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3.   After leaving the stadium, I headed to Chae Yoo-jeong’s house, not my own apartment, as I had promised him.   [Yoo-jeong: Number 1030 :3]   [Yoo-jeong: I’ll be back soon, pls wait!!]   [Yoo-jeong: (emoticon)]   When I checked the door lock password that Chae Yoo-jeong had sent me, I couldn’t help but laugh. When I arrived at the front door, I pressed 1030 on the door lock and entered the house.   [Yoo Ji-han: What ㅋㅋ]   [Yoo Ji-han: Now you’re using your home password to be cute]   1030 was the number representing my birthday, October 30th. I said it teasingly, and a reply came right away.   [Yoo-jeong: ㅜㅅㅜ?]   [Yoo-jeong: I like the number tho]   [Yoo Ji-han: ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]   [Yoo Ji-han: I also want to change my apartment password to 0115]   [Yoo-jeong: I really just did it on a whim so you didn’t have to do it!!]   [Yoo Ji-han: You don’t want me to do it?]   [Yoo-jeong: ㅠ]   [Yoo-jeong: Please do itㅠ]   [Yoo Ji-han: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]   Adorable.   [Yoo Ji-han: Can I eat what’s in the refrigerator?]   [Yoo Ji-han: Can I??]   [Yoo-jeong: Yes, yes, yes, yes]   [Yoo-jeong: Just use it!!!!]   [Yoo-jeong: ^3^♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥]   [Yoo Ji-han: ㅋㅋ]   [Yoo Ji-han: okay then]   With a dark smile on my face, I opened the refrigerator. There were three or four airtight containers filled with side dishes.   It seems that the lady in charge who comes to manage the house on a regular basis had prepared it in advance so that Chae Yoo-jeong could eat for the holidays.   “……Let’s just go out and buy something and then come back in.”   Chae Yoo-jeong doesn’t have many opportunities to eat home-cooked meals, so I didn’t want to be the first to touch the side dishes that the lady had prepared for him.   ‘Even though the landlord gave permission, I still make a mess here and there.’   In the end, I put the shoes that I had taken off back on and walked out.   Later, when I have some free time, I’d like to learn how to cook. Still, it’s not like I’m lacking in skills.   I headed to a fast-food restaurant, imagining Chae Yoo-jeong being happy after eating the dish I made myself.   After eating a quick meal outside, I returned to Chae Yoo-jeong’s house and immediately put my clothes on the washer and laid down on the sofa in the living room. For pajamas, I borrowed Chae Yoo-jeong’s short-sleeved T-shirt and training pants.   Since Chae Yoo-jeong gave permission, I could play games on the computer, but for some reason I didn’t feel like doing so, so I ended up choosing the TV rather than the computer.   “Boring.”   It was so boring to lie down alone and watch old movies. It’s been a long time since I came to Chae Yoo-jeong’s house, but it wasn’t fun because the important Chae Yoo-jeong wasn’t there.   “When will Yoo-jeong come…….”   I fumbled to pick up my cell phone left on the side of the sofa and check the screen. However, there were no new messages as they were still in the after-party.   —---   I woke up in Chae Yoo-jeong’s bedroom. There was only one person who could have moved me from the sofa to the bed. When I turned my head to the side, as expected, Chae Yoo-jeong was deeply asleep, breathing evenly.   “Ah………….”   For some reason, I felt dizzy and touched my forehead.   Yoo Ji-han, you crazy bastard. As soon as I was thinking of waiting for him, I fell asleep.   I wasted the precious Saturday doing nothing like that. Of course, there wasn’t anything worth doing that early in the morning, but it was still a shame.   ‘I should have endured somehow………..!’   I pounded the soft blanket with my fist and swallowed back tears. Considering Chae Yoo-jeong’s short vacation and my schedule that only allows for weekends to relax, it was a pity that I spent the early morning hours sleeping.   How dumbfounded Chae Yoo-jeong must have been to find me sleeping on the sofa, after confidently proclaiming that I would wait. It’s even the day that Chae Yoo-jeong won the competition. Even though I, his so-called lover, couldn’t congratulate him, I just slept. I really had no shame.   I looked at Chae Yoo-jeong with a sorry heart. His bright brown hair, disheveled over the white pillow, his pure white face revealed beneath it, and his neat facial features shined especially brightly today.   “…….”   Chae Yoo-jeong was sleeping sweetly with an expression that I never dreamed that I would be seeing on him. After staring at him for a while, I felt a burning sensation in my stomach, so I swallowed my dry saliva.   ‘Since the atmosphere is there and all, should I just make a move now?’   How can a person look so pretty and sparkle even though he is obviously sleeping? While I was staring at Chae Yoo-jeong’s face obsessively, I finally caught my senses.   Let’s be patient. I am not a beast. I am an intelligent person. Chae Yoo-jeong must be very tired because he came home late in the morning, so it would be better to let him sleep longer like this.   It was at that time that I finally regained my composure and carefully moved my body so as not to wake Chae Yoo-jeong. Chae Yoo-jeong must have woken up to the sound of rustling fabric and opened his eyes with a half asleep look.   “Hyung……?”   Chae Yoo-jeong slowly blinked and called me. I answered by patting the drowsy Chae Yoo-jeong’s forehead.   “Are you awake? It’s still morning, so sleep some more.”   “It’s okay.”   Chae Yoo-jeong yawned slightly, looked up at me, and smiled.   “Let’s eat breakfast together, Hyung.”   “…….”   My heart fluttered as I saw a bright smile pouring down on me like the morning sunlight. In an instant, blood rushed to my lower body.   ‘Ah, shit.’   Embarrassed by that naked and direct response, I quickly turned my body to the other side so that Chae Yoo-jeong could not see. When I saw with my own eyes the area between my legs that had woken up, a sigh escaped me.   “Hyung?”   Suddenly, I turned around and Chae Yoo-jeong raised his upper body slightly with a puzzled look. I was afraid that Chae Yoo-jeong might find out what was going on in my lower body, so I smiled and pretended like nothing was wrong and stood up.   “Good morning. Then I’ll take a shower first.”   “Okay.”   Fortunately, Chae Yoo-jeong did not notice.   I quickly walked to the bathroom, leaving behind Chae Yoo-jeong, who was very excited about having breakfast with me. It was only after I went into the bathroom and locked the door that I felt relaxed.   “Ha………………”   I put both hands on the sink and lowered my head. Another sigh came from deep within my chest.   I was anxious because it was morning, but I never thought Chae Yoo-jeong’s smiling face would turn on my nether region all at once. I’m really frustrated with this desire of mine...   “I’m going crazy, really.”   I muttered to myself and glanced down. The thing between my legs still remained valiantly upright.   ‘Some people get turned on from the look of a smiling face in the morning, and some people don’t show any signs of it and say we should eat breakfast brightly...….’   Since they were both men, Chae Yoo-jeong would understand, but I still didn’t want to show this side of myself until we were in the right mood. Considering Chae Yoo-jeong’s pure heart, this had to be hidden at all costs.   “I can’t help it.”   Isn’t it Chae Yoo-jeong’s first time doing anything with me? It was a consideration I naturally had to give. But the problem was me. If he didn’t understand the situation this time because I hurriedly retreated, it was still only a matter of time before Chae Yoo-jeong caught me.   Okay. While scratching my forehead and thinking about how to resolve this situation, I took off my clothes. Let’s wash first. I needed to wash up to sort things out and eat breakfast with Chae Yoo-jeong.   Below… It doesn’t seem like it’s going to go down, so I guess I’ll have to take a step while showering. I sighed again, with the cold water poured down from above to cool my warm body. I lost track of how many times I finished under the spray of the shower..   HM: why do I feel so single? TwT     --- Credits: Translator: Hoshi Miya Editor/Proofreader: Meimei, Ghostx We made a Discord Server ! please join us!

In Yoo-shin nodded without even thinking. "I'll take care of making you incapacitated." "Huh? Of course, I should do it. It was my stubbornness that caused it to be sealed in the first place, so I can't ask Gyu-ha- ssi  to do that much." "I'm an S-class, so I'm stronger than someone who can run 50 meters in 11 seconds." "T-that's true, but...……………." I was in a difficult situation. No matter how I thought about it, asking Hyeon Gyu-ha to go as far as becoming incapacitated was not the right thing to do. In Yoo-shin barely managed to come up with another excuse. "Dr. Cho will know that Gyu-ha was tamed. It's right for Gyu-ha to not get involved in this and meet the doctor alone." "I think I said it clearly." "What?" "I dealt with those who found out about my vampire attributes. Dr. Cho is no exception." It was a part of a conversation that came out so casually that it took a moment for me to understand.  When In Yoo-shin belatedly flinched and made a surprised face, Hyeon Gyu-ha, who had been observing his expression, leaned against the bench and sat down. “I’m joking.” Even though I thought about it again, it didn’t seem like a joke, but I agreed for now. “Anyway, I’ll do it. Even if you don’t kill him, I don’t want other people to know Gyu-ha- ssi ’s secret.” When In Yoo-shin was unusually stubborn, Hyeon Gyu-ha quickly accepted it. “When have I ever disobeyed you, Master- nim ?” “………………But is it really okay if I untame you right now?” “Yeah.” With that, Hyeon Gyu-ha got up from his seat. Then, he smiled and held out a hand like he had when he had come to pick him up at the attic a few hours ago. “Then, Master- nim , since I think I’ve told you everything you wanted to tell me, let’s go home. It’s early, but shall we have dinner first?” After leaving Bongandang, they went to eat dinner. They ate stir-fried rice and Rabokki, and after drinking delicious coffee, they headed to the coin karaoke. They sang with Hyeon Gyu-ha, who still only knows trot, and when they returned to the rooftop room, it was dark for an hour. Hyeon Gyu-ha, who usually went back after seeing the lights on in the rooftop room, flew to the rooftop and took him there. “I think you might have been a little tired from going to the dungeon over the weekend, so I moved you today, but please try to climb the stairs diligently even on a regular basis. Climbing stairs is good exercise. It’s a shame that it’s only three floors high. Since there’s no elevator, be careful of your knees when you go down.” In Yoo-shin tilted his head as he listened to the nagging to exercise. Except for going to Bongandang, today was no different from when we usually met and went out. In other words, it was a date. Why is a date possible? Right after I suggested that we lift the taming? 'What is Gyu-ha- ssi  thinking?' For someone who was begging me not to abandon them, their reaction was too nonchalant and cool, which, no matter how I think about it, is suspicious. If I read Hyeon Gyu-ha's emotions through the status window, I could understand them a little. However, in a situation where I was going to untame him soon, it didn't seem right to sneak a peek at his status window for my own convenience. While only rolling his eyes here and there, Hyeon Gyu-ha looked at his expression and smiled as if he found it amusing, following his gaze. “You look like you have a lot to say.” “Can I ask what you’re thinking?” “Do you really need to listen to my answer? The status window shows what emotions I feel. You can just look at that.” “......Did you know?” Hyeon Gyu-ha shrugged his shoulders as if it was nothing. “It’s no secret that tamers can figure out the emotions of their demons.” Since it was hard to explain that you could see all of your emotions, he ended up hiding them unintentionally. In Yoo-shin scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hide it……… You’re a little upset, aren’t you?” “If someone else had read it, I would have kindly pulled out their spine, but if it’s you, Yoo-shin- ssi , it’s okay. I’m a lovely pet rat who is not ashamed or embarrassed by my Master- nim ." "Then I’ll look at it for a little while." After asking for understanding and glancing at Hyeon Gyu-ha's status window, In Yoo-shin closed his eyes tightly once and opened them. Then he rubbed them with the back of his hand and looked at them again. He wasn't seeing things wrong. ………………Why is this coming out? [Current status: Murderous intent. ??. Anticipation.] The first two were the defaults recently, so even so, anticipation? Anticipation? In Yoo-shin was confused for a moment, but soon found a convincing reason. 'Gyu-ha- ssi  wanted to finish the contract quickly, even if it meant killing me. It's only natural to feel anticipation.' Even though he changed his mind, a feeling of emptiness suddenly came over him, shaking one side of his chest. Hyeon Gyu-ha met In Yoo-shin's eyes as he bent down and silently fiddled with his fingers. “What are you talking about?” “A murderous intent, a question mark of some kind, and anticipation.” “A question mark? What’s that?” Hyeon Gyu-ha tilted his head as he muttered to himself. “Well, anyway, 'murderous intent and anticipation,' that's really accurate. When you talk to Dr. Cho and set a date, you absolutely have to tell me. Now, let's go in. You have to go to work tomorrow, don't you?” Hyeon Gyu-ha gestured for me to hurry up and rest. In Yoo-shin bowed and opened the front door, then closed it again. For some reason, the word ‘anticipation’ kept making him feel uneasy. It's Hyeon Gyuha, of all people. Can I really think so simply, that there are emotions within him whose reasons I can understand without difficulty? “Excuse me, Gyu-ha- ssi .” “Yes.” “What are you looking forward to?” “It’s about the taming with Master- nim  being lifted.” “………………Is that really it?” “Yes.” Hyeon Gyu-ha's eyes were filled with anticipation as if he was asking what else he needed. "If the taming is undone, Yoo-shin- ssi  will no longer be my master, and I won't have to be mindful of my Master- nim 's every whim anymore. The pitiful pet mouse is now free. Gyu-ha is free." At first glance, it was nothing serious. However, In Yoo-shin, who had experienced that Hyeon Gyu-ha, who had decided not to pay attention to what other people thought, might do something, felt a chill down his spine. “What are you planning to do without paying attention?” Hyeon Gyu-ha put his index finger in front of his lips and winked his left eye. “It’s a secret. Secrets make men more beautiful.” “Y-you’re already beautiful enough……………….” “Hahaha.” “Gyu-ha- ssi ……………….” He also let out a pitiful sigh as he immediately turned sad. “I was going to keep it a secret until the very end, but since you're my Master- nim  right now, I guess I have to give in. I've been thinking about it, and I'm sure I'll come up with more specific ideas later, but right now I can think of two options: acting cute and acting charming. Which one would you like to hear first?” “Cute………………?” “I was planning to lie down in front of the rooftop room every day and throw a tantrum.” “W-why………………?” “Do you really need to ask?” Hyeon Gyu-ha answered shyly. “Since you will untame me, you have to tame me again.” “What do you mean by that?” “Taming.” “What?” “Taming.” “…….” “Taming.” His mind was blank. Thankfully, it wasn't as bizarre as I feared. It's a relief, but...... Was the reason for the cool reaction because I could just tame it again? No, I guess that's not a bad response, but still, still, something about this... just doesn't feel right. The confused In Yoo-shin gave up on organizing his thoughts for the moment and asked again. Unlike what he had worried about, the 'acting cute' was relatively mild, so he thought the 'acting charming' would be similar. “W-what about the charming act?” “Suicide blackmail.” “…….” In Yoo-shin regretted not asking a question. Hyeon Gyu-ha kindly explained to him, who was just opening his mouth with a pale face because he couldn't find a word to say. "Yoo-shin- ssi  has a good personality, right? Even if you don't want to be tamed again, wouldn't you listen if I threaten you that I'll die? I thought it would be the best way to renegotiate the contract amicably." It was clear that the dictionary definition of 'amicable' that he knew had a different meaning from the 'amicable' that Hyeon Gyu-ha knew. "W-what if something bad happens to you, Gyu-ha- ssi ……” "If I die, you can't tame me, but there's no way I'll die. I'll just lightly pierce my aorta." "Huh?! If you cut your aorta, you'll really die!" "I didn't mean to cut it, but visually, it seems like it would be a more effective way to blackmail you." "Gyu-ha- ssi !" “Okay. I’ll have the healer stand by and then threaten you!”  “Ah, then even if you get hurt, you’ll heal quickly, so that’s okay………………No, of course, you can’t do that either!” In Yoo-shin, who was so out of his mind that he almost got caught up in Hyeon Gyu-ha's words, hurriedly collected his wits. "Why do you want to get me to tame me again?" "I feel like I've been asked why the sun rises in the east.” "If I tame you, you'll go back to the original problem." "Because it's not a problem for me." The smile finally disappeared from Hyeon Gyu-ha's eyes. HM: My brain is just like ‘whoaaa….’ I didn’t see this coming from a mile away. That’s scary. ------ Credits: Translator: Hoshi Miya Editor/Proofreader: Editor M, eteryl Support on KOFI: If you wanna become a translator, editor or proofreader, please use the discord link given below and follow the instructions in the recruit channel. We made a discord server! please join us!

1.   01. Agony of one’s seniority   “Hyung.”   I quickly came to my senses and looked up when I heard a quiet call.   “What’s wrong? You don’t look good.”   “Um……”   I shook my head when I saw Chae Yoo-jeong looking at me with a worried expression.   “I was just thinking about something else for a moment.”   “Is that so?”   Chae Yoo-jeong stared at me strangely for a moment, then smiled and changed the topic of conversation.   “Are you free for next Wednesday night? It will be around 8 after the game ends that day, and I want to have dinner with Hyung.”   The place where Chae Yoo-jeong and I are now was a cafe near my office.   Chae Yoo-jeong was busy because it was the spring season, and I was busy because I had just gotten a job at a company. Even when we barely made time to meet, all we did was talk for an hour or two at a cafe or have dinner, like today.   “Of course it’s okay.”   As I happily accepted the date, Chae Yoo-jeong looked at me with a slight blush on his cheeks.   “You must be tired because it’s a weekday…”   “I am working in the same situation as yours, so I’m not the only one who’s tired.”   I continued speaking after taking a sip of the ade in front of me.   “And I feel relieved when I see your face.”   Chae Yoo-jeong’s round eyes widened as I conveyed my true feelings in a playful tone. And then his whole face lit up.   “M-me too……”   Chae Yoo-jeong whispered in a muffled voice, covering his eyes with his hands as if he could not bear to look at me properly.   I thought to myself as I looked at Chae Yoo-jeong, who was both embarrassed and unable to hide his happy feelings.   ‘I’m dying, really.’   As I looked at his pure white cheeks turning as red as apricots, I couldn’t help but drool.   I don’t know why you’re wearing such a pretty shirt after practicing at your dorm. It’s cute that he paid attention to his clothes just to meet me, but it made it even more difficult to control my mind.   ‘Why are three buttons undone?’   My eyes kept going to the nape of his neck, which was clearly exposed. His shirt was also loose-fitting, so his collarbones were visible just by unbuttoning three buttons.   As I was upset and turned to drink ade, Chae Yoo-jeong smiled brightly and said,   “Let’s go eat what you like next week!”   Eat what I like...…………   ‘No, stop. Yoo Ji-han, you crazy bastard.’   I smiled at him, barely pushing away the rubbish thoughts that came to me reflexively.   ***   After going through all sorts of hardships, I started dating Chae Yoo-jeong and was simply happy.   I was happy and nervous when I was with Chae Yoo-jeong. And he did his best for me at every moment, to the point where anyone could say he was a good lover, so how could I not be happy?   But that lasted for a while, and as we barely made time to meet each other once or twice a week, we gradually reached our limit.   ‘………So frustrating.’   To be honest, I was in a state of frustration right now.   There was already this pretty person who was making plans to flirt in front of me, but we hadn’t done anything for the past few months.   I know it’s an unavoidable situation. Chae Yoo-jeong, who was in the middle of a competition, could go out for two or three hours at most, and I was busy as a new employee at the company.   There was no way we could have the skinship we wanted because we made time to meet each other just because we wanted to see each other. Moreover, since we are both men, it is not easy to even hold hands outside.   So, it was inevitable that I would go crazy at the rare moments of skinship.   “Uh, ahm… Hyung…………….”   The kiss, which was like a children’s kiss, deepened in an instant.   With my hands on the car seat, I lowered my upper body further towards Chae Yoo-jeong. The seat belt was pulled taut.   Chae Yoo-jeong drove the car to the front of the office just as I was leaving work. After seeing the night view at the Han River for less than two hours, I left my disappointment behind and was on our way back home. As soon as the car stopped, I ran to Chae Yoo-jeong.   “Gasp, ugh………”   I wasn’t used to kissing yet, so I couldn’t breathe properly, and even Chae Yoo-jeong’s gasping breath was too sweet.   I wanted to do a little more, so I gently bit his lip to catch my breath. I saw Chae Yoo-jeong’s face in front of me, with his eyes tightly closed, not knowing what to do. It was something I thought about every time I kissed him, but I was amazed at how long and pretty human eyelashes were, like dolls.   “Yoo-jeong-ah.”   As I placed my lips on his and called his name in a whisper, Chae Yoo-jeong carefully opened his eyes. In the streetlight light coming through the car window, his hazy eyes sparkled like jewels.   “Let’s do it one more time. Un?”   “…….”   I felt greedy and wanted to kiss once, maybe ten times, but kissing ten times in the car was a bit excessive. Chae Yoo-jeong, who blinked his eyes and hesitated, clenched his fists and nodded his head.   I was waiting for Chae Yoo-jeong to give his permission, and as soon as he nodded, I quickly put my tongue back into him. Out of frustration, I grabbed Chae Yoo-jeong’s shoulder and pulled him towards me.   As Chae Yoo-jeong’s body and mine came into close contact, a strong floral scent wafted out, as always. Now it was so exhilarating that heat surged into my lower abdomen.   ‘How on earth is this happening?’   His scent that passes the tip of my nose is fresh, and his body fluids that touch the tip of my tongue are sweet. Unable to overcome my excitement, I tightened my hands on the driver’s seat, causing the leather to rub roughly.   I bit Chae Yoo-jeong’s lip and sucked his tongue to my heart’s content. As I persistently rubbed his tongue and tickled the inside of his mouth, Chae Yoo-jeong’s breathing became as excited as mine.   ‘In moderation, in moderation……………….’   I tried to somehow hold on to my reason, which wavered like a candle in the wind.   I finally let go of Chae Yoo-jeong’s lips, which I had been biting and sucking for a long time. Although it was disappointing, it seemed like if I did more, I might get hard down there. That would be so unsightly.   Still, I still had regrets, so instead of kissing, I rained kisses all over Chae Yoo-jeong’s face.   “Thank you for taking me here.”   “Ah, no. Of course I have to take you here.”   Kiss, kiss. As the awkward kiss continued, Chae Yoo-jeong’s face became even redder than when I kissed him.   Chae Yoo-jeong was always like this. Is he perhaps more embarrassed about the idea of pecks than he is about tongue-kissing? It doesn’t matter because it’s cute like this.   “Hey, Hyung.”   Chae Yoo-jeong waited until the kiss was over and immediately fiddled with both of his hands and spoke to me with an expression full of anticipation.   “Do you remember I said the playoffs would start next week?”   “Of course.”   “It’s difficult to go out from the playoffs to the finals, so I can’t see you during that time… Instead, I get a vacation after finishing the finals.”   I frowned for a moment at the thought of not being able to see him, but then my eyes widened at the news of the vacation.   “Vacation?”   “It’s about two weeks, but I have a separate consultation schedule, so I get a few more days off than other team members.”   “Then… Are you staying at home during your vacation, not at a hotel?”    “Yeah. Hyung, if it’s okay just for the holidays………………”   Chae Yoo-jeong, who was unable to make eye contact with me and hesitated, finally spoke.   “C-can you stop by my house often? Since I’m free during my vacation, I can go out and pick up Hyung when he gets off work... It’s great to go out on a date like this, but since you’re coming after work, you look tired...……………”   “Chae Yoo-jeong.”   I carefully held Chae Yoo-jeong’s hand, who seemed anxious and couldn’t keep it still.   “Why are you so anxious? It would be nice if you invited me to your house. I was also worried about you driving me home every day.”   In the first place, the reason we met and saw each other for an hour or two and then parted ways was because of Chae Yoo-jeong’s schedule while he was competing. If I take a vacation after the competition, I’ll be able to rest and play more comfortably indoors, whether at Chae Yoo-jeong’s house or my own.   ‘… For a moment. Vacation?’   As I was comforting Chae Yoo-jeong by kissing his palm, I realized it was too late.   You can go on a date at Chae Yoo-jeong’s house during the vacation? That’s soon... it’s the best place for skinship, right?   Suddenly my heart started beating at a rapid pace. Heat surged throughout my body along with my pounding heartbeat. Just the thought of being able to have a comfortable date with Chae Yoo-jeong made my body and mind incredibly excited.   I was not even a teenage student dating for the first time. What is this? I felt sorry for myself, but it was a good thing. Still, I couldn’t get excited anymore, so I tried to suppress the corners of my mouth that kept rising and spoke to him.   “It’s a shame I won’t be able to see you during the playoffs, but I’m glad to hear about your vacation. Do the playoffs start this weekend?”    “That’s right.”   “Good luck. I’ll keep in touch with you every day, so make sure to see me even if it’s late.”    “Yes!”   When I cheered him on by planning to eat a lot of Chae Yoo-jeong during his vacation, he responded enthusiastically without knowing anything about it.     TGITG fans, hello, we were planning to write the fanfic of TGITG series as the continuation for the novel, but our editor got too busy to join us. I want a *co-writer* to join us. The plot line and storyboard for each chapter is already finished. It’s around 10-20 chapters. In return, you will get to read the rest of the chapters around 13 chapters left as of now. Please contact me directly to discuss about this. Please join the discord server on the below link. We made a Discord Server ! please join us! --- Credits: Translator: Hoshi Miya Editor/Proofreader: Meimei, Ghostx We made a Discord Server ! please join us!

"It's natural that Grandma doesn't want to see me. If I hadn't told them to go to the mountains to play, my parents wouldn't have passed away." In Yoo-shin unconsciously touched the ring on his left ring finger and lowered his head. I should have said I wanted to go to the sea instead. Since I was too young to go to the faraway Seonchang Mountain, I should have thrown a tantrum to my parents who were planning a trip to nearby Gamaksan Mountain in Paju. On the day of the trip, I should have had a stomachache and postponed the congratulatory party. Anywhere was fine, but I had to avoid Gamaksan Mountain that day. The grandmother collapsed before the body of her daughter, whose limbs were not even intact. Her only child, whom she had raised with utmost devotion, like gold and jade, after losing her husband at a young age and working tirelessly through all sorts of hardships. How much did my heart ache with worry, watching my daughter go in and out of dangerous gates as a hunter, fearing she would get hurt? It hasn't even been a few years since I was relieved that she became a firefighter, a job where she wouldn't have to hunt monsters, but she ended up dying at the hands of a monster after all. While trying to protect a child who wasn't even her own blood. How did I raise her? Without even thinking about the mother left behind, she flew away, so hastily, for a child who isn't even her own blood. When I lost my husband, I had a daughter. Now that I have lost my daughter, what is left? The grandmother clutched her chest and cried so loudly that her insides felt like they were being torn apart. The child could not even cry out loud next to her. The rest of the damaged body was never found. He heard that if it weren't for a hunter who entered the scene after learning of the incident, they would not have found the body. Kim Jeong-hoon's body was even more gruesome. The father, who had become a firefighter because he was able to minimize burns, suffered terrible burns that crushed and burned his back while protecting his son. Many people shed tears over the couple's final journey, but nothing could fill the pain of the parents who had sent their child away. The grandmother would sometimes cry. Sometimes I resented it. Sometimes I cried like a child. After the funeral, which was full of wailing, the scene in the house where he lived alone with his grandmother was mostly like that. Sometimes, his grandmother would apologize with tears in her eyes. However, the days when she had to endure resentment and hatred were much longer. The child became a silent boy again. In front of his grandmother's miserable sadness, the child gave up the right to express his pain through crying. The pain that he could not express in words was not relieved at all and became a deep bruise in his heart. Just as the expression on the child's face began to disappear, a sharp slap flew to his cheek. Careful not to let his voice tremble, In Yoo-shin took a deep breath. "My grandmother hit me on the street... The police who happened to be passing by found me right away." In front of those who talked about child abuse, the grandmother kicked the child several times while crying that it had eaten her daughter. She was immediately isolated, the child received psychiatric counseling, and the grandmother was sentenced. The abandoned child stood in front of the orphanage again. "When I was first expelled, the kids teased me really meanly, but when I was expelled the second time, they just pretended not to know. I don't know what the teacher said. The atmosphere was really heavy, but two months later, money laundering was discovered………………." Hyun Gyu-ha, who was sitting next to me and looking up at the sky, blurted out. "What happened to Grandma? What happened after that?" "I heard later that she didn't even appeal. But anyway………………." A heavy sigh fell under his feet. "I think she hit me in front of the police on purpose. That was the only time Grandma ever touched me, and she only pretended to kick me." "Why?" "......I don't know." In Yoo-shin shook his head quietly. It's not that I didn't guess. But I was a sinner who didn't have the right to understand my grandmother's feelings. I met many good people at Dalgasa Orphanage. The child who had lost his smile was now exchanging silly jokes with his friends, older brother, and younger brother, and following the monks, but the bruise that had formed did not fade at all. The grandmother's bloody sobs brought tears to the child's heart. Even though he laughed without reason, he always had a hard time. It felt like all the joy and pleasure he was enjoying was taking away his parents' share. If they hadn't adopted him, his parents wouldn't have died. And as a firefighter and an awakened person, he would have saved many people. Unlike himself, who had finally awakened his ability but was unable to save anyone and was struggling just to get through each day. How many people could his parents have failed to save because of him? Therefore, In Yoo-shin is convinced that there is a difference in the value of human life. The person who had to come out of the pension alive that day was not him, but his parents. "You are also a great person, Gyu-ha- ssi , just like your deceased parents. There are so many things that someone like me can't even imagine, but if even you, Gyu-ha- ssi .............” The words that I couldn't bring myself to say out loud were swallowed back and clawed at my heart. Do I have any certainty that Hyeon Gyu-ha, who is as attached to me like my deceased adoptive parents, or even more so, won't follow the same path as them? When I realized that he had no choice but to rely on and cling to his Tamer, I felt a vague sense of dread. A child who was abandoned at birth and was expelled twice is most afraid of holding onto hope and expectation. (this is a visual overlapping scene between IYS and his younger version.) How much of a forced, illusory relationship is true? How can I expect more from someone whose heart would immediately cool down if the taming were lifted? The fear of a child who had been abandoned repeatedly and could not dare to rely on people changed as time passed. <………………Don’t abandon me.> His words were, in a sense, more fearful than the fear of being abandoned. Every time I saw him needing me more than I had imagined, the tears of blood flowing from the bruise I had been holding inside grew thicker. It wasn’t enough to drive my parents to death, but I couldn’t let him die. Absolutely. “I keep thinking that if I’m with you, Gyu-ha- ssi , you might be in more danger.” Hyeon Gyu-ha’s gaze, which had been fixed on the air, slowly lowered down. His eyes, which had been slowly scanning, lingered on In Yoo-shin’s eyes, which were suppressing pain, and a smile appeared. “I think I’m going to die because of you?” How horrible it is to hear a series of words that I couldn’t bring yourself to spit out in a sentence. In Yoo-shin tightly closed his eyes and opened them. “……yea.” "I'm strong. I'm sorry to use the deceased as an example, but even if 100 of them came, they would only cut off 1 second to me." "I know that too. I'm sure that Gyu-ha- ssi  wouldn't be the type of person who would be defeated by someone, to the point where you could put the word 'absolutely' in front of him. If you were alone, you would never die, Gyu-ha-ssi." "But why?" "I'm Gyu-ha- ssi 's weakness." Let's assume a case. If Hyeon Gyu-ha's enemy takes him, who is nothing more than a weakness, as a hostage. If he is put in danger in a place where Hyeon Gyu-ha can't see. If Hyeon Gyu-ha has to put his life on the line because of that. He would put his neck on the line without hesitation. Even after repeatedly thinking about it, this was not a normal relationship. “Dr. Cho said that theoretically there is a way to solve the taming issue.” “I shouldn't have brought you.” "It's a relationship that was established on the premise of being alive, and since the contract is terminated upon death, if one of them falls into a state of death, it can be terminated. There will be some aftereffects when they wake up, but they will recover slowly." "That…… makes sense." Hyeon Gyu-ha nodded, touching his chin. He pretended not to see that and continued to speak. "I'm not saying to terminate it right away. I want to help Gyu-ha- ssi  with something he is looking for." Hyeon Gyu-ha's chronic boredom, which makes him give up until death, is because he is not making any progress in what he is looking for. If I help him with that and help him get what he has been chasing his whole life, his boredom will disappear. If that happens, I will become nothing more than a worthless weakness that is of no help to him. "When that happens, Gyu-ha- ssi  won't need someone like me, so taming’s………………..." "Let's do that." "Release the taming……………….. What did you just say?" He looked up, wondering if he had misheard, but his gaze, smiling broadly and looking down, remained calm as ever. "The master wants to end it, so what power does a weak little rat have? End it the way you want." “Master wants to end it, but what power does a weak rat have? I’ll end it as I want.” “Ah, that……………….” “Well, there’s no need to hold on until you find everything, so don’t wait too long and contact Dr. Cho right away.” When he readily agreed, who he thought would not respond easily, In Yoo-shin was the one who was surprised. “But there is a condition.” HM:  “.........” TwT ; I cried a lil  ------ Credits: Translator: Hoshi Miya Editor/Proofreader: Editor M, eteryl Support on KOFI: Chapter 65 If you wanna become a translator, editor or proofreader, please use the discord link given below and follow the instructions in the recruit channel. We made a discord server! please join us!

As soon as Maurer saw Jeong Tae-ui, he grabbed him by the collar and wailed.  "My baby! My cute lady, how are you going to take responsibility, you bastard!!" The Colt that had been snatched from Maurer was, of course, confiscated by my uncle and was now quietly sitting in the evidence storage room. I can only say that I will be able to get it back someday when I leave this branch. His uncle, as if guessing who the owner of that Colt was, smiled meaningfully and said slowly, ‘Please give my regards to the guy who shares a room with you.’ It was Jeong Tae-ui who thought that the colleagues who had such a person as their superior were a bit pitiful. "A colt is a small price to pay to save a life." "Ah, that was Maurer's? No wonder, it was strange that Tay, who doesn't have a single possession, would have something like that." "Don't cry, don't cry. Once I get to Hong Kong, I'll get you a new one. I know a reliable dealer on the black market. You can get a Colt easily, right?" The colleagues who were next to Maurer each said a word. Jeong Tae-ui, who was looking somewhat embarrassed at Maurer lamenting that it was all useless, scratched his head and muttered. "I don't know any black market dealers……. That's right, how about something like a one-year subscription to a puzzle magazine?" Then Maurer, as if bursting with anger, raged and lunged. Jeong Tae-ui slowly retreated behind his colleagues. Regardless of how urgent the situation was, having arbitrarily snatched someone else's belongings, used them, and even lost them, I had nothing to say even if I had ten different mouths. Another gloomy thing happened for the next fifteen days. Having belatedly attended the weapons engineering lecture, and then immediately being called in by the instructor for a thorough dressing-down with both harsh and bitter words, Jeong Tae-ui finally managed to escape only to find that the lunch break was already more than halfway over. Even though not even half a day had passed, Jeong Tae-ui, whose mind and body were exhausted as if thousands of years had gone by, trudged to the cafeteria, but the cafeteria door was, of course, firmly closed. Seeing the red letters hanging on the door that said 'Out of service for a while due to an accident,' Jeong Tae-ui felt inexplicably guilty even though it wasn't his fault. He then saw the smaller text added below that read 'Temporarily use the Third self-study hall as the cafeteria until repairs are complete' and quickly left the spot. When he went to the autonomous reading room, the colleagues who had already finished eating and were sitting there chatting greeted Jeong Tae-ui. Of course, there were also members from the European branch, so the atmosphere was still ominous, not much different from the morning, but since they had wrecked the cafeteria in the morning, neither side seemed to have any intention of causing trouble during lunch as well. As soon as he entered the self-study hall, Jeong Tae-ui reflexively and quickly looked around, wondering if he might run into a face he didn't want to see. Since he wouldn't be able to avoid him eventually while doing joint training, he still intended to make every effort to avoid him. Fortunately, that unpleasant face wasn't visible. Instead, there were only his colleagues, who greeted him with cheers that sounded like shouts of joy. What a gutsy guy, a crazy guy, a loyal guy—there were all sorts of descriptive words. Of course, that phrase was mixed in there too: "You robber who stole my darling without permission!" was the lament. Jeong Tae-ui, in the hastily arranged temporary cafeteria where even decent food wasn't readily available because he was late, barely managed to get two slices of bread and a carton of milk, which he chewed while listening to his colleagues' words absentmindedly. For the next fifteen days, the regular schedule was planned to be general lectures in the morning and special lectures or special training in the afternoon. In other words, the real fighting would begin in the afternoon. However, it was impossible for a number of people, slightly less than a hundred, to receive training all at once. "Then how are the personnel divided for training?" As Jeong Tae-ui asked while chewing bread, Ching explained, "It's the same as always. We divide into six teams, so fifteen train together. Of course, half will be from our side and half from the European side. That will randomly rotate, so you'll train with a different team each time." Jeong Tae-ui recalled the weapons engineering lecture he had entered partway through.  I mentally reviewed the unfamiliar faces that had been mixed in the classroom one by one. "If it's random—meaning if I'm lucky, I might be able to spend the next fifteen days without meeting that certain person at all?" When Jeong Tae-ui asked, holding onto a sliver of hope, Ching shook his head. Then, looking as if he understood why Jeong Tae-ui was asking such a thing, he made a pitiful face. "If you're lucky, you might meet that specific person less often. But it's just 'less,' you're inevitably going to train together at least once." "Of course, of course. Even if that weren't the case, everyone will undergo extreme training together on the weekend." The colleague, who muttered that, suddenly grabbed Jeong Tae-ui's hand tightly and said.  "During the extreme training, everyone participates without exception and engages in a survival competition, so you'll get another chance. A chance to definitely finish that guy off." "……It sounds like the day I go to the other world (die) is coming." Jeong Tae-ui lost his appetite and put down the bread he was eating. He forced the food down with milk, but it got stuck in his throat and didn't go down well. At this rate, I won’t be digesting well either.    Suddenly, Jeong Tae-ui mumbled, "Huh?" as he stared at the bread in his hand for a long moment before tilting his head. "Wait, weekend? ……What training on the weekend? We're supposed to rest. Isn't it free time from 5 PM on Friday to Sunday?" Jeong Tae-ui furrowed his brow as he asked, and the colleague sitting next to him retorted as if he was talking nonsense. "Didn't you hear that we can't leave the island during the joint training period?" "What are you talking about? There's no break for fifteen days. It's just continuous training. It's actually better on weekdays because we only train during regular hours. On weekends, they release people into the forest from Saturday afternoon to Sunday noon for life-or-death survival training." "What is that! Then my stroll I planned for!" Jeong Tae-ui's face hardened, and he shouted, banging on the table. The milk sloshed and spilled, wetting the surface. His colleagues stared at Jeong Tae-ui in bewilderment, their expressions blank. "Stroll? What stroll date?" His colleagues all asked as if they couldn't understand, but Jeong Tae-ui was too dumbfounded to answer. Training on the weekend was unheard of. It turned out that my colleagues thought it was so obvious that no one had told me. My uncle hadn't mentioned that there would be no days off during the joint training either. ──I hope the weather will be nice. Suddenly, Jeong Tae-ui remembered what his uncle had said with a smile earlier. Before that, Xinlu had also tilted his head, muttering to himself, ‘Did I misunderstand?’ "Damn it……. So this is what it was." Jeong Tae-ui suddenly lost all his energy and collapsed face down on the table. The determination he had made to survive until the weekend, even with less than fifteen days left to live, felt futile. "Hey, why are you crying? Well, I understand more than enough how you don't want to do endurance training." "Yeah. That's probably when the chances of dying are highest. ……And if there's someone you want to get rid of, that's the best time to aim for them too." Gloomy words were exchanged above Jeong Tae-ui's slumped head. Just a little while ago, I had been able to pull myself together with a sliver of hope remaining in my despair, but that hope had now vanished. All that was left was despair. Seeing Jeong Tae-ui lying motionless on the table, completely drained, Tou patted his shoulder as if he understood everything. "It's okay, it's okay. We're here for you. Do you really think we'd just stand by and watch you die?" "Yeah. If you're ever in danger, I'll snatch the Colt from Maurer and shoot this time." Pushing Maurer, who was yelling not to say ridiculous things, away, everyone offered a word of comfort. However, those words did little to console him; rather, they only foreshadowed a more bleak future. "Cheer up, Tay. Why are you so down already? The real bloodbath starts this afternoon." "Aah, right. Let's loosen up this stiff body. It's been a while since I've punched a human sandbag." Suddenly, the voices around him grew louder, as if they wanted him to hear. Then, the European branch members sitting on the other side, who had been chatting noisily among themselves, started shouting roughly. "All they learned was how to bluster, even though they'll get beaten from the start and won't be able to do anything." "Do they only teach how to fight with words in the Asian branch? And they're terrible at that too." Here we go again.  Jeong Tae-ui, who was lying face down on the table in a gloomy mood, was now forgotten as they started fighting like a pack of dogs. The two shouts that had been directed at each other were getting closer and closer. Jeong Tae-ui lifted his head with a dejected expression. Everyone was standing and hurling harsh insults and shouts at the European branch members, and the curses coming from the other side were just as fierce. Behind his colleagues who stood like a wall in front, Jeong Tae-ui looked at Maurer, who was sitting behind him as well, and asked with a tired face. “Every day for the next fifteen days is going to be like this……." "Today is mild since it's the first time in a while. As the days go by, sparks will really fly, and you'll see something like this." Maurer still glared sullenly at Jeong Tae-ui but grumbled a reply anyway. Jeong Tae-ui murmured sadly. "And in the afternoon, we will start earnest sparring with those guys." "Yeah. Today it's free individual sparring. Boxing, judo, aikido, kendo, and so on. Just pick two and follow their rules, and the rest is completely up to us." “What the hell? If you allow the rules of both martial arts, there's practically no limit. That's not sparring; it's just a dogfight.” “Of course, it's no different from a dogfight. If it were a proper sparring match under strict rules, would such resentment have built up?” “Still, training with other branches was similar, so why is it only like this with the European side?” “Well, it's my first time in a joint training with the European branch, so I don’t know for sure, but maybe if I get beat up by those guys during training, I'll understand a bit.” “……” Maurer had never experienced the pandemonium of the European and Asian branches clashing, but having gone through the mill at other branches, he had a better grasp of the current situation than Jeong Tae-ui. Leaving the two of them behind, the dispute between their colleagues and a group of European branch members was escalating. Initially, they were just trading insults and slander across the central serving table, but they gradually moved closer, increasing the intensity, and now they were throwing whatever they could grab, like spoons and forks. It looked like if they got just a few more centimeters closer, they would be pulling each other by the collar over the table and engaging in a full-blown physical fight. Rather than getting involved in that fight, I would rather be called a traitor and slip away, but they were blocking the way to the door, so I couldn't leave. There were no windows behind me that led to the hallway either. Even though this was supposedly the milder side of the fighting, Jeong Tae-ui was already exhausted, and he sighed, wondering how much darker things would get in the future. He rolled up his sleeves. There was no choice. When they started fighting, I would pretend to join in and then make a run for it. However, just as Jeong Tae-ui made up his mind to pretend to join the fight and then escape, a helping hand reached out from an unexpected place. “You bastards! You wrecked the dining hall, and now you’re going to ruin this place too?! Don’t you want to eat?! If you don’t want to starve, get out there and fight, you sons of bitches! And pay for all the broken tables, chairs, and equipment, you damn bastards!” If the serving staff, who had been silently clearing the leftover food amidst their brawl, hadn't been hit by a chopstick thrown by one of them and exploded in anger, banging the serving spoon against the food containers like crazy, the fight would have escalated into a physical altercation within minutes. Those who bowed down even more to the serving staff than to the branch supervisor, let alone the headquarters director, immediately lowered their voices and could only glare at each other, muttering, “Just you wait until the afternoon sparring session, you bastards. I’ll beat you until you cry likes babies.” Most of those who said, ‘Just you wait, you bastards, I’ll beat you until you cry like babies,’ kept their promises. They lined up in order, glaring at each other as if they were about to devour each other even before the starting signal for the sparring was given. As soon as the signal dropped, they charged at their designated opponents. And they fought literally to the death. They all succeeded in beating their opponents until they cried tears and blood. In other words, they all got beaten up that badly. Jeong Tae-ui, who was relatively late in the order, repeatedly watched his colleagues and the opposing men crawl out covered in blood, and he became completely fed up with the situation. “Aren’t they all crazy?” Jeong Tae-ui said very seriously, rubbing his chin. Yeon-ho, who was standing right behind him in the next turn, nodded very gravely. “Now that’s what I’m talking about! The only cure for psychos like them is to beat the crazy out of them.” “……” He always acted so lively and refreshing that I thought he was somewhat normal, but this guy's gone mad too……. Turns out it's not that the people are bad, it's that the environment in this place is terrible. It's a society that pressures you to fight. Jeong Tae-ui looked at Yeon-ho with pity for a moment before turning his head. Even now, two men were locked in a vicious brawl right in front of him, biting and tearing at each other. The instructor seemed to be only watching to make sure they didn't violate the rules of their respective martial arts, regardless of how much blood soaked the floor. Only when one of them indicated defeat or when the outcome was clearly decided would the instructor stop them. The infirmary is going to be packed today. There won't be enough beds to lay them all down, and judging by the looks of them, and if they were laid down next to each other in the infirmary, they'd probably still throw things and fight even while lying down. They'll run out of medical supplies. Jeong Tae-ui was skeptical about what good would come of making them fight like this, and whether there was even a need for such a joint training exercise. However, as the sparring progressed, he put those thoughts aside. After each round of sparring, the instructor pointed out one or two things that would be good to note from the previous match. For example, he'd mention how when one person swung their left arm from a certain direction, the opponent blocked it by bending their right leg at a near-perfect right angle. It was so accurate that it was beyond astonishing, almost eerie. Even when they replayed the recorded footage to double-check, the instructor's observations were never wrong. What was also surprising was that the men who seemed to be just mindlessly shouting and cheering while surrounding their sparring colleagues actually had a solid grasp of which movements influenced the outcome and what each person's strengths and weaknesses were. It was a dogfight, but it was excellent research material for the spectators. And the spectators were skilled enough to understand that material. Jeong Tae-ui scratched the back of his neck and muttered to himself. Yeah, it's something I rarely feel, but even though these guys are lunatics like this, from an outside perspective, they're top-notch elites. Even that colleague who's being dragged out covered in blood after getting beaten to a pulp and simultaneously dishing it out, was someone who was registered with the Military Intelligence Agency and had obtained special permission under the guise of two years of job training to learn at the branch from last year until the end of this year. There were also many others who were registered with other public institutions and came in the form of training to further their self-development. ……It's baffling how such capable guys can be so ready to risk their lives over something so trivial. Jeong Tae-ui muttered, shaking his head and sighing. "Don't sigh. Do you really think you'll die? If things look bad…… well, I can't bring myself to say you should surrender, but if things get really bad, just faint and get carried out. But make sure you land at least one good hit on that bastard."  Yeon-ho said from behind, gripping Jeong Tae-ui's shoulder firmly. It seems like this friend had completely misunderstood my feelings. He probably thought I was sighing because I was nervous about my upcoming turn. 'Well, it's true I don't want to get beaten and I’m anxious,' Jeong Tae-ui thought as he looked at the opposing side. He then examined the opponent he would be facing. He looked strong just from the first glance. Jeong Tae-ui wished he could hope that the guy just looked menacing but was actually ridiculously weak, but those muscles clearly weren't from a gym; they looked like they were built through real combat . His eyes and expression were also incredibly calm. Just by looking, he seemed like one of the top two strongest guys in that group……. I really have the worst luck. The sparring match before his turn had ended, and after the instructor's summary of key points and the team members' discussion, Jeong Tae-ui's name was finally called. He stood up with a face that looked like he'd bitten into a bug. "Win and come back!" "Smash him into pieces!" “We believe in you, master of cheap shots!" None of the cheers pouring in from around him sounded pleasant. The slightly better one was "Win," but he had no confidence whatsoever in meeting that expectation. While I lacked the confidence to win against someone like him, I take pride in being a good judge of people.  He looked at the man standing before him and thought bitterly. I don’t stand a chance against that man. In that case, there’s only one thing I can do. "Getting hit as painlessly as possible."  Jeong Tae-ui muttered to himself, bracing himself. Soon, the instructor gave the starting signal, and he began to engage with the other man. His opponent was someone who had formally and systematically learned various types of martial arts from the basics. Moreover, he was adaptable and skillful. It would be difficult to win against such a person by facing him head-on. Not just winning, but even holding my own would be tough. Evading was the best strategy. But in this situation where even evasion wasn't really an option, all I could do was try to get hit with less pain. If there was one fighting skill Jeong Tae-ui was better at than others, it was that: getting hit with less pain. It was a survival technique mixed with his own brand of cunning, and it had actually been quite useful and he'd often used it effectively even in the military. There were several methods, but the most basic one that Jeong Tae-ui used easily was this. When the opponent swung a fist, I would move in close, right next to them, and then step back slightly at the moment of impact—a method that others might scoff at if they heard about it. However, when used well, there were few techniques as useful. But even so……. "It's not like it doesn't hurt, damn it." Getting hit repeatedly, not just once or twice, naturally hurt. Even if he could get hit with less pain, it was just slightly less painful; it wasn't as if the pain was halved or reduced to the point where I barely felt it. Amidst the exchanges of blows, Jeong Tae-ui would occasionally seize an opportunity to land a punch or kick on his opponent, all the while internally repeating, ‘This hurts like hell.’ However, the man fighting Jeong Tae-ui also seemed displeased with the somewhat strange feeling of his punches landing, his expression growing increasingly sour. Whenever he received even a light counter-attack or two, his complexion would worsen. Judging by that look, if I take one solid hit now, I'll definitely be carried off to the infirmary. It was then that Jeong Tae-ui thought this. The man finally threw a punch straight at him with a face full of frustration, and Jeong Tae-ui briefly considered just taking this one hit and collapsing. But the fist came much faster than his deliberation, hitting him squarely before he could even try to evade. "Guh……." Not even a proper scream escaped him. In the moment he was struck by that fist, Jung Tae-ui realized, So I really have been getting hit with less pain until now. It hurt so much it took my breath away, and it felt like my insides were about to spill out of my mouth. And on the other hand, I thought it was a good thing and promptly pretended to pass out. I desperately wanted to end it like this, and in truth, I was in too much pain to stand properly. As Jeong Tae-ui lay prostrate, looking like he was saying, "I surrender," his opponent seemed even more agitated. He had an expression that said he couldn't calm down because he hadn't had a satisfying bout and his opponent had already given up.  Seeing that expression, Jeong Tae-ui managed a refreshing smile despite the pain. You damn bastard, I've taken this much of a beating, how much more do you want? Whether that meaning got across or not, fury blazed even brighter on the man's face, but the instructor had already called for a stop. The man reluctantly stepped back, letting out a frustrated breath. Lying there, Jeong Tae-ui hoped one of his comrades would come and carry him out, but all he got in return were cold words telling him not to exaggerate and to quickly clear the spot for Yeon-ho. Tch, some ungrateful bunch of teammates.  Jeong Tae-ui grumbled as he slowly got up and moved aside. Behind him, Tou, who was the last to go, was beaten mercilessly, just like most of the others, but he also delivered some merciless blows in return. It took quite a long time for him to finish his match and be dragged out, and by then, it was already past regular work hours. The actual fighting time for each person wasn't that long, but the time the instructor spent pointing out key aspects and the team members spent discussing each fight was several times longer. So, even though there were only about seven or eight sparring matches, the time dragged on considerably. They had been fiercely cursing and jeering at the opposing side, but as they neared the end of their day, fatigue was evident on their faces. It was tiring enough just to watch and analyze, but having to go in and fight themselves once in a while must have been exhausting. Jeong Tae-ui felt the same way. The moment the instructor announced the end of the day and left the sparring room, he collapsed face down on a desk. Next to him, his teammates were already starting another argument, displaying the same behavior they had in the cafeteria at lunchtime. But Jeong Tae-ui had neither the energy nor the inclination to stop them, then or now. After bickering loudly for a while, Tou, gulping down water, noticed Jeong Tae-ui and approached him. "You took quite a beating earlier, so didn’t that drain all your energy? Go back to your room and get some sleep." "You're the one who looked like you were covered in blood from head to toe, but now you look perfectly fine." "What do you expect when those bastards could make a stone Buddha lying down jump up!" Jeong Tae-ui shut his mouth. Here, that seemed like the wisest way to protect myself. Following the same pattern as lunchtime, their voices were gradually rising as they argued. It was only because their entire bodies were exhausted from the day's work that they weren't already grabbing each other by the collar and rolling around on the bloodied floor. Jeong Tae-ui staggered to his feet. He walked around the back of the sparring hall, where curses and insults were flying, towards the door. Yeon-ho, who was still wiping the blood that was slowly trickling down his forehead, asked Jeong Tae-ui where he was going. Jeong Tae-ui looked at him with a tired face, then replied in an even more weary voice. "I'm on my way to receive my punishment for violating the rule ― the personal possession of weapons within the branch is prohibited." "What? Wasn't getting called into the instructor's office the end of it?" "He didn’t let me off that easy……. He wants me to make ten hand-written copies of the United Nations Human Resources Development Organization's disciplinary code." "Personally tran……. …….Shall I help you?" "If the handwriting is different, he said he'll make me do another ten volumes, and the person who helped will also have to do ten volumes separately." "Hmm……. Well, good luck. My heart is with you, cheering you on." With Yeon-ho's pitying gaze on his back, Jeong Tae-ui waved his hand lightly and left the sparring hall. I desperately wanted to go straight back to my room and collapse on my bed, but my uncle had kindly specified the deadline for submitting the ten transcribed volumes along with the punishment: the morning after three days. All my break time would have to be forfeited. Finding the United Nations Human Resources Development Organization's rule book wasn't difficult. There was no need to wander through the numerous bookshelves in the library searching for a classification number; the books related to UNHRDO had their own separate shelf right next to the door. Jeong Tae-ui sighed as he pulled out a booklet about the size of a notebook.  Both its size and thickness were just like a notebook. It wasn't too thick to transcribe.  However, the moment he opened the booklet and saw the densely packed, tiny letters inside, he couldn't help but sigh again. The morning after three days. I should probably be grateful that he at least had time to sleep. Lunchtime, break time, any spare moment I had, I would have to be glued to it, but still, it seemed like I could finish it while still getting some sleep. Jeong Tae-ui fanned himself with the booklet as he turned to walk towards the loan desk. But just as he was about to turn, a phrase written on the side of the bookshelf caught his eye. 'Loans are not permitted.' "What the heck?" Jeong Tae-ui abruptly stopped fanning himself with the book in his hand and muttered in astonishment. If it couldn't be borrowed, where was he supposed to get it to transcribe? Where would they even keep such a useless booklet? However, no matter how many times he held it up to the barcode reader of the automated loan system, the booklet, true to its label, wouldn't register for borrowing. He briefly considered just grabbing it and running out, but then the recognition system by the door would surely go off, and the alarm would blare throughout the entire floor. "Oh. Books related to the organization can't be borrowed externally. That's internal material. If you want to see it, you have to read it inside the library. Or you can borrow it with the warden's permission." The man waiting in line behind Jeong Tae-ui had been peering over his shoulder, wondering what was taking him so long, and kindly informed him when he saw the book. Oh, thanks , Jeong Tae-ui said, stepping aside, still holding the book in his hand, utterly lost. Internal material that can only be borrowed with the warden's permission. There was no way my uncle wouldn't know that when he told me to write this. The point was to hole up in the library whenever I had free time and just copy the book. "……." Sighing and fanning himself with the book, Jeong Tae-ui clicked his tongue and turned around. Well, then I'd just have to bring a blank notebook and copy it here. When I thought about it, while I was stuck here transcribing, I wouldn't be bumping into those other guys, so maybe there would be fewer chances of getting into trouble, which might be a good thing. Jellng Tae-ui gathered his writing materials and sat down at a desk in a corner of the library, opening the book. I wanted to grab anyone and ask for help, but my uncle's words about having to rewrite ten volumes if the handwriting was different were no joke. Then, what if I copied one volume and then cleverly made copies and slightly altered them...? Jeong Tae-ui briefly considered this but soon shook his head. Forget it. If I got caught trying to be clever, I wouldn't escape a disaster. My uncle wasn't someone to be trifled with. Jeong Tae-ui rolled up his sleeves and began transcribing.  I briefly wondered if this wasn't something they did to punish elementary school students, but still, wasn't this mild enough? Recalling his uncle's strict addition, "Make sure to write the clause about 'prohibition of personal weapon possession' in neat and clear block letters," Jeong Tae-ui decided to consider it all his own fault for being foolish. However, about two hours into the writing. "I should have just let some stranger die. I should have just let some stranger die……." Such words were escaping Jeong Tae-ui's lips. What kind of self-proclaimed righteous person was I, snatching away someone else's hidden gun—even though it had no bullets, so I could have died for nothing—saving the life of a stranger? I had even risked my own life for fifteen days! I must have been crazy. Completely insane. It was all that bad influence from the military. Jeong Tae-ui gritted his teeth as he moved his hand. His wrist and arm ached. I thought about going to the infirmary and getting a pain patch, but considering the sparring match that afternoon, I doubted if there would even be any patches left for me. But when he thought about it, Jeong Tae-ui and his team were relatively better off. Before Jeong Tae-ui finished his work and came to the library, he had stopped by the infirmary hoping to get a pain patch or ointment for his bruised ribs, which ached from a hard elbow strike. He had asked an administrative officer, who looked like he had been swamped in the infirmary all afternoon, for some ointment. While the administrative officer was looking for it, Jeong Tae-ui casually looked around the infirmary and found several living corpses lying on the beds. 'Ugh, what is this…….' On the bed right next to Jeong Tae-ui, there was even a lump of flesh that couldn't be called human. Splints were applied to all four limbs, and bandages were wrapped tightly around the torso, yet every bit of visible skin was covered in scabs. The face was so mangled and broken that it was gruesome to look at. Jeong Tae-ui had even cautiously placed his hand underneath to check if he was still breathing. ‘Here's the ointment. Ah—don't touch him, don't touch him. That guy is the unluckiest bastard who's come through here.’ The administrative officer, the medic, handed Jeong Tae-ui the tube of ointment and waved his hand when he saw Jeong Tae-ui looking at the patient. Jeong Tae-ui nodded as he accepted the ointment. 'Hmm. He does look terribly injured……, but how on earth do you end up like that fighting? Who fought this guy? Is it that one lying over there?' Pointing to the next most gruesome-looking body after that patient, he asked, but the administrative officer shook his head. 'That guy's not here. He's probably out somewhere having fun right now, completely unharmed.' 'What? No way, the opponent is this messed up and he's fine—what kind of guy—' Jepng Tae-ui trailed off, dumbfounded, then suddenly shut his mouth. A certain person had flashed into his mind. And administrative officer, as if he could guess who Jeong Tae-ui was thinking of, nodded silently. 'Yeah, that guy.' '…….' Suddenly, the patient's case didn't seem so ordinary. If things had gone just a little differently, it could have been me lying here in this state. Jeong Tae-ui looked down at him with a horrified expression and opened the tube of ointment he had received from the administrative officer. The familiar scent that wafted out the moment he opened it made him frown and look back. 'What is this.…… Tiger Balm?!' 'Hmm. Haven't you seen it before? They sell it everywhere. It's quite useful, so you should buy some when you go to Hong Kong after training. Quite a few team members buy it and keep it stocked in their rooms. There are so many injuries, after all.' My maternal grandmother had applied it to me a few times when I was very young, but I still remembered this nostalgic ointment because of its unique smell. Jeong Tae-ui stared at it somewhat bewildered. He had expected some more professional bruise ointment since this was the infirmary. As if he had quickly read Jeong Tae-ui's expression, the administrative officer said seriously. "Hey, don't look down on this. Look at the instructions here. Muscle pain, sprains, insect bites, even headaches! It says you can use it for all sorts of things." "No way, ointment for a headache…….? Are you supposed to rub it on your head? Or eat it?!" "Anyway, it clearly says so in the instructions, look." It was true. The English instructions definitely listed headaches as one of its uses. "Wow……, looking at this is giving me a headache……." Jeong Tae-ui muttered, wondering where on his head he was supposed to apply the ointment. Even as he did so, more injured people were flooding into the infirmary, and the administrative officer, looking swamped, dolloped a generous amount of the ointment onto Jeong Tae-ui's side, roughly rubbed it in, and then pushed him out, telling him not to come back for such minor injuries. Having been kicked out of the infirmary, Jeong Tae-ui had come to the library after confirming that no one among the crowd in the infirmary was in worse shape than the half-corpse lying on the bed. "……." Even as he copied the book, the scent of Tiger Balm wafted gently from his side, hidden beneath his clothes. In fact, as he moved his pen like this, it felt like he should just slather the ointment all over his entire arm, starting from his wrist, but the thought of how pungent the smell would become made him sigh. "I should have just run away with hyung before Uncle came. I should have just bolted before Uncle came……." The mantra escaping his lips had changed. In this situation, there were more than one or two things to regret, so the most fundamental regret had surfaced. There were countless other regrets stemming from that fundamental one, but the regret that currently weighed most heavily on his mind was the one that had freshly sprung up after seeing that living corpse. I shouldn't have even brushed past that lunatic. I should have stayed out of sight, hidden away. Since things have turned out this way, the best course of action is to stay as inconspicuous as possible and, during the unavoidable joint training, to blend in with the other colleagues. Jeong Tae-ui sighed, pushing aside the one volume he had barely finished copying and stretched his body. There was no one in the library. It was usually a quiet place, but today, being the first day of joint training, everyone was too busy to read, so the library was almost empty. Only occasionally would one or two people come in, pick out the book they needed, and leave immediately. Jeong Tae-ui patted his stiff shoulders and tilted his head from side to side. Only one volume was done yesterday. How would I ever finish the remaining nine?  Even as he sighed, he had no choice but to open a new notebook and write down the first line. Regulations of the United Nations Human Resources Development Agency Article 1 Organizational Structure of the Agency……. "You're working hard. Judging by your notes, I’m guessing you have nine more to write?" It was then that a slow whisper reached him from over his shoulder. Scribble.  The pen slipped. Jeong Tae-ui glared at the crooked line drawn over the perfectly written letters and cursed under his breath. Damn it. His back was exposed.  This was fatal. Even if a knife were plunged into my jugular vein right now, there would be no way to avoid it. Especially since I hadn't even realized someone had come right up behind me. Jeong Tae-ui, who had momentarily flinched in tension, slowly relaxed his shoulders.  This was a situation where I had no choice but to surrender completely. The moment I try to move, a knife will be lodged in his back. Yeah, kill me if you want………. Jeong Tae-ui continued writing next to the wrongly drawn line, speaking in an expressionless tone. "There probably aren't any books worth reading here.” Come to think of it, despite the gruesome rumors surrounding this man that were hard to even imagine, he had a rather peculiar taste when it came to books . Jeong Tae-ui doubted if there would be any book in this library that would suit his fancy. "Yeah. The books in your room seem like they'd be more interesting." However, even as he said that, the man seemed to have found a book to his liking, as he sat down a couple of shelves away from Jeong Tae-ui with a book in his hand. Jeong Tae-ui stared at him with bewildered eyes at his unexpectedly compliant retreat. Of course, I hadn't wished for a violent confrontation, but I had certainly thought that there would be trouble the next time I met this man. The man, Riegrow, looked exactly the same as he had in the morning. Just like he had looked last night. The only thing that had changed was his attire; his calm and relaxed movements, his flawlessly pale face, and the expression that showed no signs of fatigue were all the same. He didn't seem to pay any attention to Jeong Tae-ui, as if he had never spoken to him, and sat down to open his book. Then, he silently turned the pages. The gaze behind his glasses was fixed steadily on the book. Did this guy perhaps forget……. that I pointed a gun at him this morning? As Jeong Tae-ui stared at him with a suspicious look, Riegrow, who was turning the pages of his book, seemed to sense his gaze and looked up. Their eyes met. Riegrow, who had been calmly meeting the gaze of Jeong Tae-ui, who hadn't even thought of looking away and was staring blankly, paused for a moment as if thinking about something, and then closed his book. "Why? Do you need help?" With that, as if readily offering his assistance, he gestured for the remaining notebooks and pen. "I guess this is your punishment for violating weapon possession. It’s not too bad. It seems Instructor Jeong went easy on you because you're his nephew." Jeong Tae-ui frowned at the nonchalant way he spoke without even a hint of a smile. "You seem to want to say that I'm receiving special treatment. If that's the case, then I have a question for you. If I'm getting off easy because I'm the instructor's nephew, then who are you and what's your connection that allows you to go around perfectly fine without any sanctions after beating someone to a pulp?" Then, he laughed and waved his hand dismissively. "There's no need to get so defensive. I simply thought that Instructor Jeong dotes on his nephew quite a bit. I'm not displeased even if you received no punishment at all. Don't get angry, I'm just stating the obvious." "......Have rumors of my uncle and I being related spread throughout the European branch too?" "News of the rare brave soul who pointed a gun at my neck reached my ears before the long hand of the clock could even make a full rotation. You’re the messenger of Justice, who was dragged to the Asian branch by his uncle less than a month ago Jeong Tae-ui- ssi ." So he didn't forget after all. But why is this lunatic being so quiet? Jeong Tae-ui tilted his head and stared at him silently. He raised his eyebrows as if finding Jeong Tae-ui amusing. "Why that face? Shouldn't I be the one glaring?" "......" "Or did you think that the moment I saw you, I would immediately sink my teeth into the back of your neck?" "Yes." At Riegrow's question, Jeong Tae-ui frowned unhappily and replied. Riegrow laughed. "Maybe so, but I don't feel the urge to do that right now. Let's wait a little longer." Having said that, he opened his book again. And as if wanting not to be disturbed any further, he kept his eyes on the book and didn't look up again. Jeong Tae-ui stared at him for a moment before turning his gaze away and starting to move his pen again. While mechanically moving the pen, he slowly pondered the words the man had spoken. The words he pondered the longest were the very last ones. I don't feel the urge to do it right now. Let's wait a little longer. And the interpretation of those words came to me quickly, even before I could repeat them a few times. It meant that he simply didn't feel like doing it at this moment, but he was ready to sink his teeth into the back of my neck whenever the mood struck him. That could be in the next minute, or it could be on the day the joint training ends. It would be better to just act now. What's the difference between this and being told to keep his nerves on edge for the next two weeks? Suddenly, a surge of anger welled up inside him, and he gripped the pen tightly. Scratch , the notebook tore, leaving a hole. Suddenly, the obnoxious Lieutenant Kim came to mind. That guy was the same.  When the news that Jeong Tae-ui was involved in a stabbing incident at a gay bar reached the school, Lieutenant Kim was the first to overhear it. At that time, that guy looked at Jeong Tae-ui with a sneering laugh and muttered audibly, "Well, there's no need for rumors to spread right away," or something like that. Are all unlucky bastards similar in that way? No, but Lieutenant Kim was just unlucky, not dangerous like that guy. Looking at it that way, Lieutenant Kim was better. Though they were both equally annoying. Driven by his surging resentment, Jeong Tae-ui's speed picked up, and before he knew it, he had finished copying the second volume and was pulling a new notebook towards him. He wrote down the first line again. Regulations of the United Nations Human Resources Development Agency Article 1 Organizational Structure of the Agency, blah blah blah. The advantage and disadvantage of such simple work was that while my hand kept moving, other thoughts didn't leave my head. Perhaps because I was facing an immediate threat to my life, only the dark fortnight ahead filled my mind. "Nothing's really changed. Anyway, I'll just hide myself well out of sight, and when it's unavoidable, I'll stick close to my colleagues, and then somehow I'll manage to save my life……." Even if he was called petty and cowardly, if his safety was guaranteed, Jeong Tae-ui was prepared to follow the instructors around for the entire fortnight.  Surely they wouldn't commit murder in front of an instructor. Muttering to himself as he moved his pen, Jeong Tae-ui suddenly felt a gaze and looked up. There was no way he could have heard the very small mutterings I made only to myself, but Riegrow had been watching Jeong Tae-ui with an amused expression since some point. When their eyes met, he smiled as if urging him to continue. "......What happens if you kill someone in front of an instructor?" Jeong Tae-ui paused his pen and asked, since their eyes had met anyway. His intentions might be obvious, but this wasn't the time to hide them. Riegrow chuckled deeply and pointed with his finger below Jeong Tae-ui's hand. "Didn't you see while you were copying? It should be detailed in the punishment section there." "There was punishment for killing a person, but the condition of 'in front of an instructor' wasn’t there." Jeong Tae-ui muttered grumpily.  In fact, the case of killing someone was also described very ambiguously. It was a matter of if it hangs on the ear, it's an earring; if it hangs on the nose, it's a nose ring,’ and the item explained over three pages could be summarized simply. It was 'different treatment depending on the situation.' Riegrow seemed to think for a moment, then tilted his head and replied, "Well." "I don't know because I've never killed anyone in front of an instructor. However, when I killed an instructor, they put me in the detention center for eight months." Scratch.  The pen slipped again. Jeong Tae-ui glared at the line that had crossed out the line above it and shut his mouth. Damn it. If he's the kind of guy who kills instructors, pulling me out and killing me, who’s hiding among comrades wouldn't be a big deal. Suddenly, his shallow calculations were completely shattered. "Incidentally, that was in self-defense too. Just like this morning." Riegrow continued speaking. However, it would have been better not to add the last few words. Jeong Tae-ui twirled the pen between his fingers. His mouth felt incredibly bitter. I briefly wondered if he had misunderstood the meaning of 'self-defense', but no matter how I thought about it, it seemed like the other man was the one who misunderstood. "To add one more thing, the dictionary definition of self-defense refers to an unavoidable act of causing harm to an aggressor in order to prevent danger and unjust infringement upon oneself or another." This man didn't misunderstand. Jeong Tae-ui felt that he was incredibly shameless for calling his own actions 'unavoidable'. The words that rose to his throat fluctuated, wondering whether or not to leave his mouth. "Speaking of this morning's incident, don't you think your use of unavoidable force against the aggressor was a little excessive?" Jeong Tae-ui couldn't hold back and blurted out. However, Riegrow shook his head. "You heard him too, didn't you? The words telling me to shoot. If I had let that guy go carelessly, he would have aimed to strike me from behind until the end. Considering the future threat, it was an unavoidable choice for me too. Besides, that guy is alive and well, isn't he? Although he's probably stuck in the detention center by now." "I see, so is that why you killed that instructor too?" When Jeong Tae-ui asked, Riegrow let out a low laugh. Then, after a subtly awkward silence as if he was a little troubled, he spoke briefly. "Well, sort of. I actually nearly died back then. Even I wouldn't have killed an instructor if it hadn’t been for that. Do you know how much I regret killing him?" Looking intently at him as he spoke with a seemingly regretful expression, Jeong Tae-ui wanted to say "my mouth is dry," which had reached his throat again, but he swallowed the words. In any case, this means that if he has a good reason, this man could calmly kill someone, even an instructor—and probably even a vice-director or a director. If so, using a human shield to escape this man's sight would be impossible. In conclusion, hiding unconditionally is my best option. I didn't know if that was even possible. "What's wrong with my life these days? It’s like I’m cursed with bad luck." Jeong Tae-ui muttered, throwing his pen onto the notebook. I wasn't exactly a person who was particularly lucky to begin with, but it had gotten a bit worse since I came here. What the hell? "They say Jeong Jae-ui is one of the incredibly lucky men on earth, isn’t that the case for you?"  Riegrow suddenly asked when Jeong Tae-ui muttered. Jeong Tae-ui just looked at him. He wanted to grumble about how fast news traveled, but then he realized it was a fact that everyone in this branch knew anyway. "Just because we're brothers doesn't mean we have the same fortune. I'm just average. It feels like I'm above average right now." "Aha……." Riegrow just said that and smiled subtly. But he didn't say anything else. I thought of my Hyung, whom I hadn’t had seen for a while. In a case like this, if it were Hyung- though he wouldn't have ended up in such a situation in the first place - this man would probably suddenly leave this island due to an unfortunate accident, or unexpectedly be bitten by a dozen venomous snakes that had sneaked in and died. Jeong Tae-ui pointed at Riegrow with a very serious face and muttered. "You should be glad that I'm not my brother. Otherwise, your future would be looking pretty bleak right now." Then Riegrow burst into laughter. I wondered if he would understand, but it seemed this man had understood my words properly this time too. "Yes, I’m grateful for that. In that sense, I won't do anything to you today, so stop being so tense and relax, don't be so on edge." "It would be nice if you could do that for the entire two weeks while you’re at it." "We’ll see……. I'm not very good at controlling my emotions either, so I can't make promises I'm not sure I’ll keep." It sounded like he was determined to see things through before the 2 weeks were up, one way or another. Looking at those calm eyes, Jeong Tae-ui knew it wasn't just a feeling. Jeong Tae-ui clicked his tongue bitterly, picked up his pen again. At any rate, reducing the time he spent encountering this man was probably the most passive resistance he could offer. Suddenly, Jeong Tae-ui stopped his pen. Then he casually asked Riegrow, who was turning his gaze back to his book, "Earlier, you said you'd help with this." Riegrow raised an eyebrow slightly. He looked at the piled-up notebooks and pens that Jeong Tae-ui had, then said, "Aah," and shrugged. It seemed he found it a little unexpected that Jeong Tae-ui would bring that up. "If you ask me to help, I will. Copying isn't difficult, and, ……well, Instructor Jeong would notice if there’s a different handwriting right away, though." It seemed he had offered to help knowing everything. The point was, it wasn't just empty words. Jeong Tae-ui smiled broadly and held out an empty notebook and pen. "It's okay, it's okay. I just need to write up the required number of volumes. I'm not asking for much, just write one copy for me." "Hmm……. Well, alright." Riegrow readily accepted the writing tools. Soon, the scratching sound of a pen flowed as smoothly as water. Jeong Tae-ui recalled his uncle's words, who had said, "Anyone who helps you will also have ten copies," and pushed aside the thought of the increasing number of copies he would have to face. Everyone has a person they want to see suffer, even if they themselves have to suffer in the process. Let's see you suffer too. And let's try to reduce the chances of running into each other. *** ------ Credits: Translator: Hoshi Miya Editor/Proofreader: Tâmago We made a discord server! please join us!

< Unn , I used to be a hunter. Now, I’m just a C-Rank Awakener. You’re also an Awakener.> The child tilted his head because it was a little difficult to understand. Kim Jung-hoon, who saw that, thought for a moment and took out a lighter from his pocket. He lit the lighter with a click and placed his palm on it. The child’s eyes widened in surprise, and Kim Jung-hoon waved his hand with a smirk. There was no trace on the palm of his hand that had clearly been touched by the flame. <…….> What if I’m wrong? What if they don't meet me because I'm wrong?  Worry covered the child’s mouth. Kim Ji-won suppressed her regretful expression and smiled gently. <……………Firefighter?> Kim Ji-won burst into exaggerated laughter and clapped her hands. Kim Jung-hoon added his own words. There were hikers stranded in the mountain lodge, and Kim Jung-hoon hurriedly evacuated them. When he was about to carry the last person who had sprained his ankle while hiking and was having trouble moving, the fire finally engulfed the mountain lodge and the building collapsed. Since he was alive and in front of me, Kim Jung-hoon must have been safe. However, because the story was told so tensely, the child unconsciously got absorbed and swallowed dry saliva. This time, he was able to answer more easily than before. <………………Auntie?> Embarrassed, Kim Ji-won laughed out loud and hit Kim Jeong-hoon on the shoulder. Because she unconsciously put strength into her hand, Kim Jeong-hoon fell backwards in his chair without even having time to scream. He didn't get hurt because the back was a bed. The scene was just like a gag show or a sitcom he'd seen on TV, so the kid laughed a little without realizing it. Kim Ji-won and Kim Jeong-hoon laughed even brighter than the kid. The next time they met, the kid said that he could see letters in the air like them. It was another thing they had in common. The kid laughed in front of them without hesitation. And he began to wait for their visit. Now, before going to bed, the child looks forward to coming to the daycare center tomorrow, meets the two people in her dreams, plays, and happily shares the dream story with those who visited, spending each day. Before entering elementary school, Kim Ji-won and Kim Jeong-hoon made eye contact with the child and spoke a very careful word. The voice was as nervous as the child. As Kim Yoo-shin, the child had a new family. He was happy. However, the child's lips would never say 'mom' or 'dad'. When he tried to pull the words out of his throat, the memory of that day suddenly came rushing back and he closed his mouth. "Hey. Just call me uncle and aunt. Get attached." That gaze that was blankly looking down. The child naturally knew that they were different from the middle-aged couple before. They adjusted every little thing in their lives to the child. They tried to help the child become attached to the family by taking care of the things he likes. Good people. Such good people. If it weren't for the abandoned memories, I would have run to him and hugged him. They looked sad whenever the child couldn't call mom and dad, but they never rushed and just waited quietly. And they gave love. Kim Ji-won's mother didn't accept the child easily. Kim Ji-won's mother also laughed in vain at Kim Jeong-hoon's witty words. Later, Kim Ji-won secretly told her the truth. Kim Jeong-hoon, the son-in-law, was also an orphan. Kim Ji-won's mother, who had been unfamiliar with and had a hard time with the orphan adopted by her daughter and her husband, soon began visiting her often with gifts for the child. The child learned a little more about them. When they went to Seonchangsan Mountain to play, Kim Ji-won coincidentally helped with a forest firefighting operation, which led to their interest and the couple becoming firefighters together. She felt great reward and joy in saving people. She had been married for 6 years. The child also came to learn about his own abilities. Kim Ji-won used her connections from her days as a hunter to find tamers and learn their know-how. He learned that he could heal and buff them, but since his abilities were limited to rodents, other know-hows were not very helpful. The child suddenly got scared. If my abilities were useless, wouldn’t that mean that I would lose the commonality of being an Awakener? Would I be useful when I’m not an Awakener? Kim Ji-won gently stroked the child’s head, who was anxious and nervous. Her hands were as warm as her voice. She explained it to the child, who just blinked, not understanding what she was saying. Kim Ji-won wrote the difficult Chinese characters in her notebook. Yooshin唯信.  She called the child once again, “Yoo-sin.” The name that the director had randomly added to the first word that came up when converting the Chinese characters finally became the child’s. The gaze that had always been blankly looking down from above disappeared without a trace. Yoo-shin smiled brightly. Mom looked at him as if she was going to cry and smiled. After work, Yoo-shin came back and hugged him, saying, "Dad," and Dad shed tears. Mom pretended to tease him and slapped his arm, and Dad joked that his arm would break. When we were at the daycare, the only places we went to play were the nearby parks. Surprised by the fact that he could go anywhere, whether it was the ocean, the mountains, or the forest, Yoo-shin opened his small mouth wide. After thinking about it all day, he answered. The mountain where Mom and Dad met and fell in love. He wanted to go there. And soon after, Yoo-shin learned that he would regret that decision for the rest of his life. ------ Credits: Translator: Hoshi Miya Editor/Proofreader: Editor M, eteryl Support on KOFI: Chapter 64, 65 If you wanna become a translator, editor or proofreader, please use the discord link given below and follow the instructions in the recruit channel. We made a discord server! please join us!

I begged and ended up getting a mouthful of insults. Grabbing Jeong Tae-ui's cheek and pulling it mercilessly, his uncle repeatedly said, "Aigoo, you idiot, aigoo, you fool, how can you be like this on the first morning of joint training?" And every time, Jeong Tae-ui replied, "I know, I know," without fail. The person who saved Jeong Tae-ui, was rubbing his cheek that seemed to have stretched a meter, and someone who happened to enter the instructor's office. "Correctional Officer Jeong Chang-in. Are you busy? ……You look busy. Would it be alright if I intrude for a moment?" The person who said that calmly with a smile was the Vice-director, Rudolf Jantille, his uncle's direct superior. As soon as he entered, the uncle let go of Jeong Tae-ui as if nothing had happened and shook his head. "What do you mean by you’re intruding? It's all finished here. ……Go on now." Seeing his uncle, who had the face of a strict instructor and spoke with feigned sternness, made him feel a little queasy, but Jeong Tae-ui wisely retreated without a word, just slightly bowing his head. As he turned around, he encountered the Vice-director and bowed his head again. As he was about to leave with a silent nod, the Vice-director's gaze fell upon him. "Ah, yes, this young man is your nephew, isn't he?" He was speaking to the uncle, but his gaze was still directed at Jeong Tae-ui. Jeong Tae-ui, who was about to leave, hesitated. Since they were talking about me, it was awkward to pretend not to notice and leave. The uncle nodded smoothly with a smile. "Yes, that's right." "Hmm. So this young man is the brother of researcher Jeong Jae-uii." "Yes, Jeong Jae-ui is the older brother and this one is the younger brother. They're twins, so there's no age difference though." "Hmm. Yes. This young man……." The Vice-director's gaze turned to Jeong Tae-ui with a renewed interest. In the past, when he first came here, he had briefly greeted him as a sort of entry report, but at that time, this man was busy and couldn't exchange more than a few words properly. Jeong Tae-ui had taken it easy, assuming that greetings with high-ranking people were usually like that anyway. Clearly feeling the Vice-director's gaze scrutinizing him from head to toe, Jeong Tae-ui inwardly sighed. Hyung must be really famous. It's something I was already used to, but being stared at so openly like this has been rare since I became an adult. "But if you're here, what’s your brother doing?" The Vice-director suddenly asked. It was only after a few seconds that Jeong Tae-ui realized the question was directed at him, and he hesitated for a moment, saying, "Haa." "My brother gets along fine even without me." Giving the most standard answer, Jeong Tae-ui glanced at his uncle. It's not like brothers are a married couple or a patient and caregiver, and there's no reason for us to be in trouble just because they're apart, yet I’m hearing all sorts of things. The uncle, who had been watching from the side, finally interjected when he made eye contact with Jeong Tae-ui. "It's not like twin brothers always stick together. Well, even if they're apart, the bond of brotherhood will always continue." "Ah, yes, that's right." The Vice-director nodded while still carefully looking over Jeong Tae-ui. Jeong Tae-ui swallowed a sigh, wondering if this man was also trying to find differences between him and Jeong Jae-ui. It couldn't be helped, it was my fault for having a famous brother, but it seemed Hyung was particularly famous within this organization. Seriously, everywhere he goes, it's all about Jeong Jae-ui, and it's starting to get tiresome. His uncle gestured as if to tell him to leave and said to the Vice-director, "Come to think of it, we received a call from the Second Military Affairs Division of the headquarters……." and the Vice-director immediately listened to him. Jeong Tae-ui bowed his head and left the instructor's office. By the time Jeong Tae-ui, who had been called to the instructor's office right after the morning commotion and got a scolding, came out, the regular morning schedule had already begun. Since everyone in the branch probably knew what had happened, he wouldn't get a harsh word from the instructor for being a little late, but skipping it entirely would definitely result in double the punishment. Ah…… I don't want to go in. Thinking about it, the regular schedule I had to attend now was weapons engineering. The word that I had a firearm must have spread by now, so without a doubt, the strict weapons engineering instructor would be giving me a hard time. I might even get hit with a Colt. With a heavy heart, Jeong Tae-ui looked out the window. Since the instructor's office was on the ground floor, I could see outside from the hallway. The weather was very nice. I feel even more depressed. He walked slowly towards the elevator and passed by the office. Jeong Tae-ui slowed down his pace. It would be strange to just stick my head into the office without any business. Still, I wished I could see Xinlu even for a moment to wash away my gloomy mood. But then again, I wouldn't have anything to say if I went there without a reason. But it seemed that today, someone took pity on Jeong Tae-ui's gloomy mood. Jeong Tae-ui, who was passing by the office as slowly as an ant, could see a longed-for face coming around the corner of the hallway from the front. Xinlu, who was walking back from the restroom, putting a just-used handkerchief into his pocket, saw Jeong Tae-ui and widened his eyes. He immediately smiled brightly. "Tay hyung. What brings you here at this time? Haven't you started your schedule?" " Unn ? Oh, I'm about to go. I had some business in the instructor's office for a moment. ……The weather is really nice today." It was nice to be together, but we always lacked topics of conversation. Since we didn't know much about each other, we didn't have any common ground, and there was nothing to talk about. So, we had nothing to bring up other than topics like the weather. "Yes. But according to the weather forecast, it's supposed to get cloudy in the evening. It said it's going to rain tomorrow and the day after. And then it's supposed to clear up the day after that." " Unn . When it clears up, it would be nice to go for a walk on the beach again." "Shall we?" Xinlu readily nodded at Jeong Tae-ui's casually dropped remark. Jeong Tae-ui inwardly cheered and from that moment on, he eagerly began to wait for the day the weather would clear up. Xinlu looked at the instructor's office where Jeong Tae-ui had just come out and tilted his head slightly. "But what suddenly happened in the instructor's office……, ah." Suddenly, his face clouded over. "Come to think of it, I heard there was a big incident this morning. Hyung, are you alright? Is that why you were called in?" It was something that had spread throughout the entire branch, so there was no way Xinlu wouldn't know about it in this small building. Xinlu, approaching him and asking with a worried tone, looked even more endearing and lovely, and Jeong Tae-ui stared at him blankly. Seeing this bright and beautiful face brought considerable comfort to my heart. My chest felt warmly relieved. "Hmm, just a little. It wasn't a big deal. Were you alright?" Thinking about it, the administrative officer's living area was different from the team members', but there was only one place they used together: the cafeteria. Usually, he wouldn't have a chance to meet the administrative officer unless he was visiting the office for some business, but I often encountered him in the cafeteria during mealtimes. Suddenly, his heart belatedly sank. What if Xinlu had been in the cafeteria at that time? What if he had gotten caught up in that fierce fight? What if he had been hit and injured by flying pieces of stone or wood? Without realizing it, Jeong Tae-ui reached out and grabbed both of Xinlu's shoulders. Xinlu looked up at Jeong Tae-ui with a bewildered expression and tilted his head. "Hyung……?" "Hey, you usually don't run into the members unless there's a specific reason, right? Other than the cafeteria?" "Yes? T-That’s right. Even at the cafeteria, I tend to finish my meals early, so I go when it's not crowded. For lunch and dinner too, I go and eat before the members finish their regular schedule, so…… I don't really run into the other members even at the cafeteria." Hearing that and thinking about it, he realized that he certainly hadn't seen Xinlu in the cafeteria before. Jeong Tae-ui, relieved by Xinlu's obedient answers despite not knowing what was going on, spoke seriously. "Hey, you know how the European branch members are here right now? Well, among them, there are some people you shouldn't associate with, so to speak. Very dangerous people. So—" Jeong Tae-ui explained gently, not going into too much detail but enough for him to understand. Xinlu nodded as if he immediately understood what Jeong Tae-ui was trying to say. "I probably won't run into the European branch members anyway, but I'll still be careful. Thank you for your concern, hyung." Xinlu smiled brightly. Seeing that flower-like smile, Jeong Tae-ui suddenly felt embarrassed and quietly let go of Xinlu's shoulder.  I feel a little sad about the loss of the soft touch. "What. Of course I'm worried. You are……" Jeong Tae-ui stopped talking mid-sentence. He couldn't finish his words. I feel that anything I said after that would be so embarrassing that my face would burn. A moment of silence passed. It was a somewhat awkward and shy silence, but he didn't dislike this kind of silence anymore. Xinlu, who had been looking down at his feet with his head lowered, suddenly glanced up to gauge Jeong Tae-ui's reaction, then quietly reached out and took Jeong Tae-ui's hand. Jeong Tae-ui was startled and instinctively flinched. But in that moment, delicate fingers slipped into his palm. "……Eh, ehehehe……" Xinlu, looking down, smiled awkwardly with a bright red face. Jeong Tae-ui, with a similar expression, echoed with an "ehehehe."  The white fingers held in his hand were warm, which felt good. If they had been cold, that would have been nice in its own way too. Standing face-to-face with flushed faces and awkwardly holding hands, they stood like that for a while without saying anything, just holding hands, until Jung Tae-ui, feeling a gaze at some point, looked up and they finally separated. His uncle, who was opening the door to the instructor's office and coming out, was staring at them blankly. Over Xinlu's shoulder, Jeong Tae-ui's eyes met his uncle's, who was silently watching them intently. "......" "......" When their eyes met, his uncle slowly blinked a couple of times. Slowly blinked. Slowly, a subtle smile bloomed on his expressionless face. Was it just my imagination, or did it look like he was thinking, "aren’t you two having fun……?" Jeong Tae-ui wanted to stubbornly hold Xinlu's hand even tighter and stay there for a long time, but I felt that if I stayed any longer, my uncle would say something like, "When are you going to get to your morning schedule?"—and I also thought the Vice-director would be coming out soon— so he reluctantly let go of Xinlu's hand. Fortunately, Xinlu, who hadn't yet noticed the subtle smile behind him, hesitated and mumbled with a flushed face. "Then, hyung, when the weather gets better……." " Unn . It should stop raining and the weather should be nice by the weekend, so let's see each other then. Let's go for a leisurely walk too." When Jeong Tae-ui said that, Xinlu made a strange face for a moment. Then he tilted his head and muttered to himself, "Did I misunderstand?" before smiling brightly again. "Yes, hyung. Then I'll see you on the weekend." " Unn . Okay. ……If we can see each other before then, let's do that too. Anyway, take care." As Xinlu turned around after saying goodbye affectionately, "Don't worry, hyung, you're the one who should be careful not to get hurt," his uncle quickly slipped back into the instructor's office. After Xinlu went into the office, his uncle came out of the instructor's office again. He saw Jeong Tae-ui standing blankly in the hallway and waved his hand dismissively. "Are you done? I was wondering why you’re taking so long. If you skip out, you'll be stuck in the instructor's office all afternoon this time. Besides, wasn't the class you're supposed to be in now weapons engineering? Weapons engineering means Instructor McKinnon. If you get on his bad side, you'll have trouble for a long time." Hearing his uncle add that Riegrew, who would only be staying for two weeks, was nothing compared to McKinnon, Jeong Tae-ui inwardly muttered, "Will I even be alive in two weeks?" But even so, I wanted to live until the weekend to go for a walk with Xinlu. "By the way……, Xinlu……." His uncle muttered to himself as if thinking about something else, then fell silent for a moment. The nuance of his words was strangely meaningful, so Jeong Tae-ui slightly frowned and tilted his head. His uncle just looked up at the ceiling for a moment, lost in thought, before finally waving his hand without saying anything more. "I told you to go. This guy, you never listen when someone gives you advice out of kindness. Instructor McKinnon is the one you really don't want to get on the wrong side of among the instructors. No matter if you only have two weeks left to live, you shouldn't neglect planting tomorrow's apple tree." "......" When Jeong Tae-ui looked at his uncle resentfully, his uncle suddenly smiled deeply. "You're going to take Xinlu for a walk on the weekend? I hope the weather is nice." "......If the weather isn't good, we'll put on raincoats and go for a walk in the rain." Jeong Tae-ui grumbled sullenly and turned to start walking towards the elevator. He heard his uncle, who was chuckling softly and thinking about something again, say kindly to his back, "I'll definitely burn the books with you, so don't be too sad." *** ------ Credits: Translator: Hoshi Miya Editor/Proofreader: Tâmago We made a discord server! please join us!

10.   Zenoris Forum:   [Rotel] #1 in Dark Mage rankings, I’m sleepy [Comment 13]   Written by: Snaksa Views: 78 Recommendations: 0   [▼Expand comment]   LV22. Yolongyolong [ Like 0 | Dislike 0]    Confirmed?    ㄴ It’s over tomorrow, but it’s confirmed if there’s no change in 2nd or 3rd place   ㄴoh   LV54. Seung Wan-son [Like 0 | Dislike 0]    I’m sleepy. I feel like I have seen him before?   ㄴIt’s an Early Evening guild   LV17. a9studio [ likes 0 | Dislike 0]    It seems like he was a different person until almost the end, but then he changed?    ㄴ Originally it was Lycheeyum<- but he lost to that sleepy guy    ㄴI was watching and he fired like a dog ㅋㅋ   ㄴfr.. It was so funny.   LV61. How far will Samjeon stock go? [Likes 0 | Dislike 0]    That’s good. I didn’t like seeing ㄹㅊㅇ(Lycheeyum) and ㄷㄷㄹ(dodory) being ranked 1st and 2nd.   -Thank goodness it’s a skill system, not a points system, from 3rd place onwards   - It really applied so easily that it was a bit ridiculous. No... that’s right   ㄴ Is that the skill of the guy who has maintained first place?   ㄴ I remember coming in 2nd place, but that’s why I didn’t make it to 1st place.   Zenoris Forum:   [Rotel] The guild is ㅁㄹㅋㄴ (americano) [Comment 7]   Written by: Humba Candy Views: 45 Recommendations: 2   Fr it seems like they tried to put the guild leader in 1st place   I also think they put the Guild member, who is way better than their guild leader, in second place   Even then, they were both screwed by I’m Sleepy and ended up losing the first place position   By the way, the funniest thing is that they used the fact that guild leader is ranked first place as an advantage, fuck ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ   [▼Expand comment]   LV30. Moisturizer [Likes 2 | 0 dislikes]   ㅋㅋㅋ it was said that it was a powerful guild if the guild master is in the 1st place ranking   They put out all kinds of publicity ㅋㅋ   ㄴThat was ridiculous to me too. No, the ranking match hasn’t ended yet, right?   ㄴYou can do it after the ranking match ends or you can do it again   LV34. epsilon [like 0|dislike 0]   But what effect does something like that have? What good is it if Gilma is the number one in the job ranking??   ㄴYou know that it doesn’t mean much to those who have played games...but it’s worth tempting for newbies   ㄴyeah, Newbies are tempted and have no choice but to join the guild with the guild master in the first place   ㄴJust for aggro   -   Since it’s a stem, they have to go anyway, but you’re more attracted to Gilma if they are in 1st place?   Zenoris Forum:   [Rotel] I heard  ㅇㅁㄹㅋㄴ(Americano) Guild Gilma was like this, is it true? [Comment 11]   Written by: Puffuppung Views: 98 Recommendations: 5   I heard they said they would become the next Early Evening?   That’s why he stalked Yoo Chae to take him to their guild.   fr?   [▼Expand comment]   LV12. Ditz [Likes 7 | Dislike 2]   ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ the next Early Evening ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋuk ㅋㅋㅋ no are they crazy people ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ   ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋfuckㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ   LV28. Just laugh and put it away [3 likes| Dislike 0]    Fr he followed Yoo chae    ㄴbut in the end he kicked him outㅋㅋㅋ Yoo chae also reacted like who are you ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ    ㄴIt’s only natural.   ㄴ I miss how ridiculous it was to chase them around. It must have been a lot of fun;   LV67. I have trouble concentrating [0 likes| Dislike 0] The next early evening Get out. Like they will be the No. 1 guild on the server. That’s why they made such a fuss to make the guild 1st place. In fact, the aggro was a bit attractive, so the number of guild members increased significantly. It will be hard to maintain all that   ㄴ Everything they said has become nonsense, but the guild members wouldn’t they stay there…   ㄴmeㅋㅋㅋㅋ   ㄴyou reap… what you sow….   LV54. Kimi no Namae [Likes 0 | Dislike 0]    ㄹㅊㅇ(Lycheeyum) is always talking about ㅊㅈㄴ(Early Evening) being an old guild haha. I also strongly hate ㅊㅈㄴbut it is a bit funny. I find it funny too. I wonder how funny sory   ㄴHow funny were they   ㄴ I wonder if they are comedians at this level ㅋㅋ   -   Zenoris Forum:   [Rotel] ???: The ㅊㅈㄴ(Early Evening) guild is now old [Comment 16]   Written by: Sands Flavor Cookie Views: 153 Recommendations: 12   ㅊㅈㄴ Guild member I’m sleepy: Dark mage ranks 1st   ㅊㅈㄴ Guild member Starric: Reaper 1st place   Is this what abt...water...?   [▼Expand comment]   LV30. Ralphin [Likes 2 | Dislike 0]   Living Point: The real waste has already disappeared without even hearing being washed up   ㄴThis is fr   ㄴ Hearing that the washed up’s still influential ㅋㅋ   LV48. pepefist [Likes 0 | Dislikes 0]    Early evening is always attracting crazy members   ㄴ They are also crazy people   ㄴ What is it with each other? Science~   LV35. Pig Squid [0 likes | 0 dislikes]    Wow, it’s crazy how two people in one guild are in first place ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ   └ it’s surprising than ㄹㅊㅇ(lycheeyum) that Geomhee is not 1st, but Staric is 1st   LV76. Doll King [0 likes|0 dislikes]    Reaper? Have you ever had a job like this?   ㄴㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋfuck   ㄴㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋyou are so true ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ   ㄴ No, it’s too much ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ   ***   The ranking match ended without any problems, with me taking first place. Lycheeyum and his guild members, who were defeated by me in the final match for first place, maintained their second and third places until the end of the ranking match.   Lycheeyum, who slipped from first place, seemed to have been hit quite hard by the repercussions of what he had done. A large number of guild members who came in believing in the publicity that they were ranked #1 have left, and their reputation among the Zenoris community and guilds seems to have deteriorated significantly.   Aside from that, there are many protests due to operational issues... Well, that’s up to you too. When I last checked the guild rankings, Lycheeyum’s guild, ‘americano’, was ranked 25th or 26th, so it was clear that it had failed.   Early evening still holds the undisputed first place. It seems that Staric and I took first place in the ranking match, and the number of requests to join the guild, which had decreased so far, has increased significantly again. Kang Ji-hye and Harn, who were already planning to organize users who had not logged in for a long time and recruit new guild members, burst into laughter.   Anyway, the ranking match that started by chance ended like this. Lycheeyum will no longer chase after Chae Yoo-jeong, and our guild will maintain first place, so this is probably a happy ending.   “Yeah, we’re in front of the elevator now. I’ll go up right away.”   I hung up the phone and got into the elevator. When I pressed the button for the desired floor, the elevator with the door closed went up at high speed.   Actually, there is one more reason why I am glad that the ranking match ended well.   As soon as the elevator door opened, a person standing right in front of me appeared.   “Hyung.”   I didn’t know that he was waiting in front of the elevator and not at the entrance. Seeing me slightly surprised, Chae Yoo-jeong smiled brightly and spread his arms wide.   “Welcome.”   I was surprised for a moment, but when I saw Chae Yoo-jeong’s eyes sparkling with anticipation, I couldn’t help but laugh. As the elevator doors were about to close, I hurriedly walked towards him.   “I’m back, Yoo-jeong-ah.”   I exited the elevator and held Chae Yoo-jeong in his arms. His vivid flower scent filled the air, and his warm body comforted my tired body.   With the ranking match over, my time after work became entirely Chae Yoo-jeong’s. Chae Yoo-jeong waddled like a penguin while holding me and opened the front door.   “Let’s go in, Hyung.”   Okay, let’s go in. I stepped into Chae Yoo-jeong’s house with a happy heart.   “What did you do today?”   “I played games, exercised, and read books in my spare time.”   “What about dinner?”   “Not yet. The lady came over yesterday and filled the fridge. Would you like to eat together?”   “That’s good.”   Just talking about everyday things fills his heart with satisfaction.   Instead, I closed the front door and kissed Chae Yoo-jeong on the lips without even taking off my shoes. Chae Yoo-jeong did not avoid me and hugged my waist.   I ended the brief kiss and made eye contact with Chae Yoo-jeong, who was close to me. The brown eyes that looked straight at me were like jewels. When I smile, he smiles back.   We just giggled and laughed for a while. And I was sure. This is happiness.   That guy is that guy side story 1 completed.   HM: there’s one thing that I get reminded of every time when I finish a novel. When will that be the time for my happy ending….?    TGITG fans, hello, we were planning to write the fanfic of TGITG series as the continuation for the novel, but our editor got too busy to join us. I want a *co-writer* to join us. The plot line and storyboard for each chapter is already finished. It’s around 10-20 chapters. In return, you will get to read the rest of the chapters around 13 chapters left as of now. Please contact me directly to discuss about this. Please join the discord server on the below link. We made a Discord Server ! please join us! --- Credits: Translator: Hoshi Miya Editor/Proofreader: Meimei, Ghostx We made a Discord Server ! please join us!

The kid easily blurted out the “dad and mom” that they had rejected. The house was a bit cramped for a family of six, but the kid wore neater clothes and ate delicious meals than when he was at the daycare. That was the end of it. The couple, who both worked, were busy, and the kids, who were in the middle of puberty, didn’t pay much attention to the kid. When the couple went to work and the kids went to school, the kid was left alone in the room. He watched TV behind a locked door, ate, used the attached bathroom, drew in a sketchbook, read storybooks, and took a nap. Then, one of the family members came home. The child was lonely even though he had better clothes and food than when he was in the orphanage. The evening we went out to eat at a Chinese restaurant with the family. The couple asked the child a favor, and on the way back, they asked the child who kept glancing at the hamster in the pet shop window. It was the only attention the couple gave him. [You can tame the hamster.] [Would you like to tame it?] He nodded without even knowing what it was. The names were just fancy names he had seen on TV and in storybooks. Unlike the child who spent most of the day in a small room, the names of the cool warriors and princes who went on adventures, met fairies, made friends, and saved the world. They hoped that the hamster, locked in a small cage, would be able to fly in the wide world, unlike them. The couple adopted the child because they were aiming for a special supply for multiple children. The couple who won the lottery they wanted, sold it illegally at a premium, and immigrated overseas. As they were boarding the plane, the child was looking up at the high wall that he thought he would never see again. The teacher found the child who had been standing in front of the daycare center for a long time. 1- se  did not come with him. The least the couple could show the child was that they did not abandon him and instead left him with someone. The child became Kim Yoo-shin again. The director frowned when she saw the child who returned after a few months. That was all she did. The director still did not pay attention to the children, and the other children who envied the children who were adopted teased them harshly, saying that their parents had abandoned them. The child realized that he had been abandoned twice. The child who had been abandoned twice became lonelier, quieter, and more docile. Maybe he didn’t like me from the beginning because I didn’t listen. I shouldn’t have called him daddy and mommy from the beginning. 1- se  who was sold from a pet shop was not in good health. Not long after being separated from the child who had given her emotional stability, 1- se  quietly closed her eyes, searching for her invisible master. That night, when their souls were cut off, the child hid alone in the bathroom and cried quietly for a long time. And the next day. The child met her with ugly eyes that were swollen from crying all night. Mother. My mother, whom I should never have met. The late Kim Ji-won, the late Kim Jeong-hoon. Aged 36. Hyeon Gyu-ha furrowed his brows slightly in front of the photo of the old woman affectionately taken with the young couple. In Yoo-shin smiled bitterly, thinking he knew why. "My grandmother won't like me putting my picture in it." "Why? Even if you’re adopted, aren’t you her grandson?" "Grandmother thinks that my parents passed away because of me. And it's not entirely wrong. So, I don't come to see my parents on their death anniversary. I might run into my grandmother.” The funeral home of the couple who died at the same time was decorated with miniatures of the foods they liked when they were alive and firefighter supplies. There was also a small dried flower in the corner, but Inyushin didn’t bring anything. To be exact, he couldn’t bring anything. If his grandmother found out, she would be angry. Inyushin, who couldn’t leave any traces of himself, quietly bowed his head in front of the urn. Beside him, Hyeon Gyu-ha looked at the photo again with his frowning eyebrows. The date the couple died was 14 years ago in the summer. That date seemed strangely familiar. A couple where at least one of them was a firefighter and the summer of 14 years ago. Before he could think about the meaning, In Yoo-shin raised his head. The child’s eyes, which looked nothing like his parents, were filled with a cold determination, so Hyeong Gyu-ha wished that the time of silence would last forever. Hyeon Gyu-ha, who is most sensitive to In Yoo-shin's emotions, is the only one who understands In Yoo-shin's emotions. Even though he intuitively feels that In Yoo-shin's emotions that he has understood are the exact opposite of his own, he has no choice but to follow. "There's a walking path behind you. Should we walk?" However, he wanted to delay that time even a little, so he suggested it while walking ahead. "I thought you were brought by your parents to Kaesong." "I lived in Seoul before I moved to Dalgasa Orphanage. I've never been outside of the orphanage and my adopted home, so I have almost no memories of Seoul. That's why I consider Kaesong my hometown." "Why did you move all the way to Kaesong?" "That's a bit ridiculous..." In Yoo-shin scratched his head as he walked along the trail. "The orphanage I was in when I was young was one of the places where gangsters disguised themselves as money launderers. It was discovered, so the director went to prison, and although it was not closed, the size of the orphanage was greatly reduced, so the children had to be sent to other places. Most orphanages in Seoul were full, so children went all over the country, but I was lucky because I moved to Kaesong, which was nearby." "They're ridiculous people who use orphanages for money laundering." "But thanks to that, the orphanage never ran out of money, so I think it wasn't bad to live there." Even Hyeon Gyu-ha, who had been to several orphanages, found it laughable to hear this. In Yoo-shin sat down on a bench in the middle of the walking path, and Hyeon Gyu-ha had to sit next to him. “Gyu-ha- ssi .” In Yoo-shin carefully placed the words he had practiced many times for today on the tip of his tongue. “Will you listen to my story?” And perhaps, Hyeon Gyu-ha also vaguely guessed what he was going to say. He roughly rubbed his face and slumped his shoulders. “If I say I won’t listen, you’ll be embarrassed, right?” “…I guess so.” “I’ll listen to anything. Tell me anything.” In Yoo-shin calmly moved his lips, trying not to look at Hyeon Gyu-ha’s face or his feelings displayed in the status window. From the very first moment he was abandoned. “It was winter, but I was abandoned in front of a daycare center. The teacher who was coming back from the mart said that he barely saw the back of a woman running away. There was a facility with a baby box installed 30 minutes away, but I guess the mother who gave birth to me didn’t have the presence of mind to go there….” *** Unlike the middle-aged couples who looked around as if they were evaluating things, Kim Ji-won and Kim Jeong-hoon often visited their children while doing volunteer work. Sometimes, they would only visit one of them because the other person was busy. The reason why the couple visited the daycare center regularly and looked for one child is obvious. The children were very envious, but the child could not enjoy or look forward to their visits. They were scared. They were afraid that they would be abandoned again. The child could not even make eye contact properly, kept his mouth shut no matter what was said, and always had a defensive attitude, so the teachers were worried. The child was deeply hurt after being abandoned once. They tried to soothe him so that he would not be hurt again on his second chance, but the child could not raise his head at all. Kim Ji-won and Kim Jeong-hoon did not care. The more the child cowered, the more correct and warm voices greeted the child. The child was still scared and timid about going to see them, but the warm voice lingered in his ears for a long time even while he was lying in bed. When he started to speak a few words, the child learned something new. ------ Credits: Translator: Hoshi Miya Editor/Proofreader: Editor M, eteryl Support on KOFI: Chapter 63, 64, 65 If you wanna become a translator, editor or proofreader, please use the discord link given below and follow the instructions in the recruit channel. We made a discord server! please join us!

"Whoa, What a sight, what a sight……" Jeong Tae-ui clicked his tongue and muttered as he entered the dining hall. If there was one thing these branch men had in common, it was that they would never miss a meal, no matter what. So, the dining hall, equipped to accommodate their numbers, was packed. It felt like ages ago that the dining hall had been unusually deserted, with half the branch members having left just yesterday and the day before. The European branch and the Asian branch were seated and were strictly divided. Even if there were empty seats on the other side while their own side was full, they would never go and sit there, preferring to eat standing up. However, that wasn't the truly astonishing thing. That much was more than predictable. Every single one of the men had some part of them busted up. Among them, there was a guy with a blood-stained bandage wrapped around his broken head, and another with plasters the size of pot lids stuck all over his shoulders and neck. In severe cases, some even had splints on their arms and legs. This was the state they were in even before starting proper training, so the future was not just anticipated, but felt incredibly daunting. Only a few people who hadn't been involved in last night's brawl or who happened to be away at the time and hadn't had the chance to get hurt were walking around unscathed. And Jeong Tae-ui was one of them. The path ahead of Jeong Tae-ui had been completely devastated, making it impossible for him to get involved in the fight. "Wow……, the atmosphere for breakfast is just fantastic." Maurer, who followed Jeong Tae-ui into the dining hall, muttered in disgust. Maurer also had plasters on his wrists and various other places. He had just poked his head in to see what all the noise was about and had almost been swept away, getting lightly hit in the process. He had no intention of joining the fight, but he wasn't the type to just stand there and get hit, so he ended up punching back, and before he knew it, he was quite injured himself. Having selected a few of the self-serve dishes, Jeong Tae-ui turned around, then stared blankly at the forks and knives in the cutlery holder. He sighed and took out a pair of chopsticks instead. "I don't think forks and knives have ever looked so threatening to me before." I couldn't shake the feeling that everyone in the dining hall was holding a weapon in their hands. However, just as Jeong Tae-ui was about to turn around to find a seat with only chopsticks on his tray, he saw a man a few steps behind him picking up a fork with a tray containing only toast, salad, and coffee, and he flinched. "Looking at it that way, the chopsticks you picked up are just as dangerous. When you think about it, there are nothing in this world that can't be used as weapons." Sure, you would say that? You’re someone whose thumb is more lethal than any weapon, was the thought that rose to the tip of Jeong Tae-ui's tongue, but he barely managed to swallow it down. The man glanced at Jeong Tae-ui's tray, which held only rice, a few side dishes, and a couple of pieces of meat, and spoke to him in a friendly tone. "Is that all you're going to eat? Haven't you heard the saying that Breakfast is the most important meal of the day?" "I have heard that, but have you by any chance heard the saying 'Pot calling the kettle black'?" As he said this, looking intently at the man's tray, the man laughed out loud. His low, quiet laughter sounded pleasant. This man, who could be said to be the source of all those numerous wounds on those numerous men, was himself completely unscathed. Not a single part of his neat attire was disheveled. "Hmm. I don’t see any empty seats. ……Ah. There are two empty seats over there. Shall we go?" He very naturally nodded to Jeong Tae-ui. Slightly flustered, Jeong Tae-ui looked back, thinking of using Maurer as an excuse to refuse, but Maurer, who disliked getting involved in incidents as much as Jeong Tae-ui did, had already moved far away and was sitting at another table. Jeong Tae-ui remained silently for a moment, but it would have been ridiculous to say, ‘I can't eat with you because you're from the European branch,’ and I couldn't very well say what was on my mind, ‘If I stay with a prickly person like you, I might get hit by a stray stone any time, so I'll stay far away from you. ’ So, he silently followed behind him. This wasn't good, this was a bad omen. My uncle had advised me. Just unconditionally stay out of sight. Jeong Tae-ui, of course, had that advice engraved in his heart.  Even without being told, that was what I wanted anyway. Last night, I had unfortunately run into this man head-on, not expecting that the person staying in my room would be him, but I thought that would be it. Fortunately, it had passed without much trouble – although the men who had been making noise in the hallway had suffered greatly – and I had been relieved, thinking that from today on, I would really live by sticking to secluded and shadowy places. "Does it bother you?" I hadn't even imagined that this man, smiling brightly in front of me, would go out of his way to talk to me. I had naturally assumed that yesterday was yesterday's business and today was today's, and we would just move on. Jeong Tae-ui picked up some rice with his chopsticks and replied bluntly to the man sitting across from him. "Bothered about what?" It wasn't an answer that meant I wasn't bothered. There were a lot of things I was bothered about, but I couldn't tell which one the man was asking about. Was it the fact that the worst person to watch out for had spoken to me first? Was it the way he was talking to me as if they were somehow close? Or was it the cold gazes from the people sitting at the six-person table occupied by the European branch members? The man laughed at Jeong Tae-ui's reply. "I just thought it was bold of you to sit right in the middle of a table full of European branch members." At his casually spoken words, Jeong Tae-ui, with chopsticks in his mouth, looked at him with displeasure. "You were the one who told me to come here. And there weren't any other empty seats." Jeong Tae-ui felt quite uncomfortable saying that. Not only the table I was sitting at, but the tables in the surrounding area were all occupied by European branch members. Glances like arrows rained down on me. They could have very well yelled, "You should sit somewhere else with your friends," but the reason they weren't was most likely because of the man sitting in front of me. The men who had been at the same table as Jeong Tae-ui and this walking weapon, Riegrow, flinched and shut their mouths as they sat down. At that moment, Icould easily guess how this man was treated even by his own branch members. ……Come to think of it, maybe he didn't beat them up because they were from the Asian branch, but just beat up anyone who got in his way. "He's not acting the same way even within his own branch, is he……?" He muttered to himself while eating, and Riegrow, having heard him, asked back. "Who?" At that moment, Jeong Tae-ui paused with his chopsticks for a very brief moment, but then picked up some vegetables as if nothing had happened. Ah, no, no. I absolutely must not stand out. Whether it's in a good way or a bad way, it's best to just be inconspicuous. I should just eat my meal quickly and disappear, and never show up in front of this man again. Next to Jeong Tae-ui, who was silently shoveling rice into his mouth, the European branch members who had been sitting at the same table finished their meal and left like a receding tide. Four seats became empty at once, but no one came to sit there. "Come to think of it, I don't think I never got to know your name yet." Riegrow's casually muttered words reached his ears. The moment Jeong Tae-ui heard those words, his heart sank. Damn it. The signs were getting worse and worse. It was natural for someone you just met to ask for your name, but coming from this man, it didn't sound ordinary. "Um— can I ask you something?" Jeong Tae-ui didn't answer the question. Instead, pretending to be nonchalant, he wet his lips with water and asked back. At that, Riegrow slightly raised his eyebrows as if to say, go ahead. "Do you usually ask other people for their names?" I had thought Riegrow was the type of person who had no interest in others. But thinking about it, even Jack the Ripper might have asked a prostitute, "What's your name?" when he first met her. Riegrow smiled faintly, as if he found the question amusing. "Of course I do. It's inconvenient if I don't know your name when I need to address you, isn't it? Don't you think so?" "I only ask for the names of people I'm going to meet often enough that it would be inconvenient not to know their names." Whether he understood the meaning behind Jeong Tae-ui's attempt to be indirect or not, Riegrow nodded his head as if saying, "Ah, I see." Jeong Tae-ui chewed his rice without knowing what it tasted like, all the while staring at him intently. If you saw him from the outside, you would have thought he was a very handsome young man. Even if he were mixed in with the crowds on a busy street, he was neat and likeable enough to stand out. Depending on how you looked at it, you could even call him beautiful. This handsome young man, who looked like a painting even as he carelessly bit into a piece of toast, crumbs falling messily, looked a bit younger in person than he did in the video. He might even be a year or two younger than me. ……Or, since there's also a rumor that bathing in blood makes you younger, he might actually be quite old, older than he looked. "How old are you?" Jeong Tae-ui, who was rudely leaning on his elbows on the table and staring intently at him, asked an equally rude question without any hesitation. Riegrow seemed a bit taken aback by the unexpected question, but he answered with amusement. "Are you usually the type to ask other people's age often? Or is it because I seem like someone you'll be meeting often enough that it would be inconvenient not knowing my age?" Jeong Tae-ui didn't ask any further at Riegrow's witty retort. I just felt increasingly gloomy. I had even briefly thought that if we ran into each other, maybe because we knew each other, Riegrow might go easy on me if we faced off in a sparring match. But my uncle had said. Just unconditionally stay out of sight. It's already too late, Uncle. What should I do? If I die, please don't forget to burn my books with me. As Jeong Tae-ui mumbled his will along with his rice, he suddenly saw Riegrow's hand picking up his coffee cup. A pair of neat, dark-colored gloves flawlessly covered his hand. "You seem to really like gloves. You're always wearing them." "Hmm?" Riegrow looked at his own hands as if it were something new. "Aah," he said, clenching and unclenching his fists a few times, then shook his head. "Not really. It's less convenient than leaving my hands bare." "Then why do you always wear gloves?" "I don't like getting blood on my hands. It's sticky, and when it dries, it doesn't wash off easily." "Come on. We're just here to eat in the dining hall, what reason would there be to get blood on your hands—" Jeong Tae-ui, who had been speaking with a dumbfounded expression, couldn't finish his sentence. Suddenly, a man violently threw open the dining hall door and ran towards them. The man, who was from a different team than Jeong Tae-ui and whom he had never spoken to, had a terrifyingly hardened face and, with bloodshot eyes glaring at Riegrow, immediately charged at him. "Riegrow! This is Croy's gun that you killed him with!" What he held in both his hands as he shouted in a frenzy was a .50 caliber revolver. The color drained from Jeong Tae-ui's face in an instant. That crazy bastard! Who brings such a terrifying weapon, capable of easily destroying a dining hall, in the morning! "If you want to die, you should die alone, you son of a bitch……!" Jeong Tae-ui, who didn't have even a sliver of loyalty to stand in front of Riegrow, muttered a curse under his breath and quickly stepped aside. In a situation where someone might shoot them in the forehead trying to fire such a high-recoil weapon with bare hands, not knowing whether they might get hit or not, the dining hall became a scene of chaos. Jeong Tae-ui quickly ducked behind a thick pillar right next to him and anxiously examined it. With a pillar this size, even if he fires four or five shots at it, it'll probably break apart. No, but it's a six-shooter, so he probably won't just keep firing at the pillar. Besides, there's no reason for him to target me. Even though it wasn't perfectly safe, Jeong Tae-ui, having at least hidden himself, instinctively reached inside his jacket. But his pockets were empty except for dust. Damn it, he clicked his tongue and turned his head, when he suddenly saw Maurer a few meters away, crawling under a table. "Maurer!" Jeong Tae-ui immediately dashed towards him. Right after, BANG!!  A gunshot, close to an explosion, shook the air. Something broke behind him, and stone fragments flew and hit Jeong Tae-ui. His ears were ringing from the gunshot. Damn it, you crazy bastard! If I survive this, you're going to get it from me! Jeong Tae-ui crawled next to Maurer, who was looking around in panic, and grabbed his collar. And whether he screamed or not, he forcefully pinned down the resisting Maurer and reached into his clothes. As expected, the cold metal of a weapon, which he always carried, came into his hand. Turning his head, Jeong Tae-ui saw Riegrow standing alone calmly in the chaotic dining hall. And the man holding the gun a few meters away from him. An unbelievable sight unfolded before his eyes. Riegrow effortlessly tipped over and stood up a solid six-person dining table made from a whole piece of cedar, a table that would require three or four strong men to move. And then, without much effort, he kicked the table, which was blocking his path like a shield. BANG!!! The sound of another ear-splitting gunshot rang out. The thick table flying towards the man was shattered by the bullet, becoming tattered pieces, and the splinters that bounced off Riegrow's slightly turned body rained down. "Now you have four bullets left, right?" Riegrow muttered calmly, then ducked behind the pillar next to him, tipping over the table beside it again. He grabbed the legs of the table and threw it at the man. The table shattered with another deafening sound. This time, even the fragments didn't reach Riegrow, hidden behind the pillar. "Three bullets left. If you can't hit me with those, you're dead." Riegrow seemed to be enjoying himself. A cheerful smile hung on his lips. Jeong Tae-ui, who had been held back by Maurer beside him, pleading, "Give me my gun, my baby, hurry up and give it back," shook him off and ran, keeping low. Twice more, explosion-like sounds rang out in succession as he ran behind the man. "You crazy bastard, why start a fight you can't win, risking your life?" Jeong Tae-ui muttered, grinding his teeth. One bullet left. The surroundings were already a terrible ruin. The distance between the man and Riegrow was only about four or five meters. The man's neck was drenched in sweat. And in front of him, Riegrow was smiling faintly with a calm expression. He lightly caught a piece of wood the size of a forearm that had bounced off him, tossed it up and down a couple of times, then playfully threw it at the man. But it wasn't playful. The sound of the wind from the piece of wood passing just above the man's instinctively ducked head could be heard. If it had hit him, he would have at least been knocked unconscious. It was that moment. Jeong Tae-ui instinctively knew that was the moment. The moment when a person's life hung by a thread. The instant Jeong Tae-ui felt that, he moved. As the man lowered his head, Riegrow dashed forward. It was almost at the same time as he threw the piece of wood. The man, wearing a joyful smile, would have seen the demon rushing towards him like an arrow. BANG!!! It felt like the ground shook.  Jeong Tae-ui, who was close by, winced and closed his eyes at the deafening sound that made his ears ring. A short groan escaped his lips. And the moment he opened his eyes, he saw it. Riegrow, having moved under the man, grabbed his wrist, twisted it sideways, and broke it. Stone fragments and dust rained down from the ceiling where the bullet had struck. And with his other hand, Riegrow was calmly choking the man, firmly pressing down on his carotid artery. "Oh…… missed." Riegrow's smiling mutter echoed in the space that was deafeningly silent. When those words spread, everyone present could realize. Riegrow had intended to grab the man's gun hand and turn the muzzle towards his own head. He was deciding the man's death without a second thought. The man stared at Riegrow with wide, terrified eyes. The hand on his neck lightly caressed it. "Let's meet again in the next life." Riegrow's eyes softened as he smiled. His low voice whispered like a song. His large, eerie grip, capable of easily breaking a person's neck with bare hands, tightened. At that moment. "Let go of that hand." A quiet voice rang out. The muzzle of the Colt held by Jeong Tae-ui, standing behind Riegrow, stopped against Riegrow's cervical vertebrae. Riegrow, still gripping the man's neck, froze. He tilted his head back slightly, pressing his neck against the gun muzzle, and muttered with a calm smile. "If you shoot this close, your wrist won't be safe either." "Don't move. I think having my wrist broken is a hundred times better than losing someone else’s life." "......I misjudged you. I absolutely despise meddling fools who risk their lives for something that isn't their business." "I said don't move." The hand holding the Colt tightened. Without blinking, whispering, Jeong Tae-ui focused on his every minute movement. At the same time, he cursed himself inwardly. What's the big deal about some stupid guy dying? Why am I sticking my nose in where it doesn't belong? He might as well dig his own grave, cover it with sod, and lie down in it. Without a second thought, Jeong Tae-ui, who had acted purely on instinct, now wanted to bite his tongue off. But what was done was done. I was prepared to see it through to the end. Somehow, I have a scary feeling that this monstrous man would keep moving like a zombie even if his head was smashed. Riegrow chuckled. A low laugh, and his shoulders moved up and down slightly. "Haha, this is quite something. What should I do……." Riegrow, muttering as if he were troubled, slowly released his grip on the man's neck. Perhaps because he was overly tense, Jeong Tae-ui flinched involuntarily as Riegrow's hand moved. He didn't need anyone to tell me what that "What should I do?" meant. It meant, how should I take care of this new guy? Jeong Tae-ui's hand tightened on his weapon. Just one moment, if I let my guard down for even a single moment, that would be the second in which he’ll die. The moment Riegrow completely released his hand from the man's neck. That's when the man, who was on the verge of passing out, instead glared with bloodshot eyes and began to shout. "Shoot! Just shoot, I tell you! Shoot me!" At that shout, Jeong Tae-ui, who was at his limit of tension with every minute movement of Riegrow, almost pulled the trigger. Seeing the man in front of him, who was shouting such things and unaware of the favor of being rescued from danger, Jeong Tae-ui felt a surge of anger. "...You two crazy bastards are a perfect match made in heaven. You wanted to die, and I got in the way, is that it? You son of a bitch, you're going to get a beating from me later - if you’re still alive." Just as Jeong Tae-ui was saying this through gritted teeth, Riegrow, who seemed to be letting go of the man, smiled slightly and lifted his heels off the ground. In that instant, a dark premonition washed over him. Just then, "What in the world are you all doing?" An icy voice rang out from above. Several sets of footsteps approached rapidly from the direction of the door. Jeong Tae-ui, who had almost pulled the trigger of his Colt, stopped his movement and turned towards the sound. His uncle was entering. Behind him followed his uncle's captain, the same driver from before. The moment Jeong Tae-ui saw his uncle's face, he muttered, "Ugh." His uncle, who entered with a blank expression, briefly looked around and, as if he understood the situation, walked straight towards them unarmed. He saw the Colt in Jeong Tae-ui's hand and frowned. "Personal possession of weapons is prohibited within the branch. Didn't you know that, Jeong Tae-ui?" "……I know." "Whose is it?" ".......It's mine." "Yours, you say. Alright, if you say so, then let's go with that. Now, come up to the instructor's office immediately." Although his uncle had spoken, Jeong Tae-ui hesitated for a moment. Riegrow was still standing in front of me, the gun barrel pressed right against the back of his neck. The moment I moved that muzzle even slightly, it felt like this man would tear my throat out. This man was not one to restrain himself just because others were watching. His uncle turned his gaze to the man still held by Riegrow. "Luixin. Were you trying to kill him?" "----Yes! This bastard deserves to die!" "Alright, you go and spend some time in the detention center. Cool your head off there for about six months." His uncle finished speaking concisely to that man as well, and then looked at Riegrow. The look on his uncle's face clouded over with a sigh. It clearly showed he was troubled. "Riegrow." When he met his uncle's eyes, Riegrow frowned briefly as if in difficulty, and then smiled with an awkward light in his eyes, his expression still troubled. He shrugged slightly and pleaded, sounding wronged. "I didn't do anything. Suddenly, someone points a .50 caliber revolver at me, what am I supposed to do? Just stand there and get shot to death? I had no choice but to defend myself if I wanted to live." Riegrow's excuse, spoken with a mix of formal and informal language, was theoretically very valid. Even though the arm of the man he was holding was twisted at an unnatural angle and was turning blue and swollen, and even though it was overwhelmingly clear that he was stronger. His uncle clicked his tongue a couple of times, looking annoyed. Then, he glanced at Jeong Tae-ui, who still had the gun pointed at Riegrow's neck, and spoke to him. "Release Luixin and take two steps forward. My poor team member is trembling behind you." "Are you talking about that poor subordinate who's poking my neck with a gun?" Riegrow muttered as if he was wronged. "That's too much, Instructor," he grumbled, but he released Luixin. Before letting go, he pressed down once more on the twisted forearm. Then, he lightly slapped the back of the screaming man's head with his palm. Even though it was supposed to be light, there was a loud thwack, and the man's eyes widened as if they would pop out. Seeing the revolver on the ground, his uncle turned around and nodded. The captain standing a step behind him stepped forward and picked it up. His uncle took it, weighed its heavy heft, and clicked his tongue. He tapped the incredibly heavy weapon, perfect for destroying objects beyond just killing people, and then suddenly struck Luixin with the barrel. "You crazy bastard, who's foolish enough to aim this kind of thing at a person? You're going to retake the weapon engineering course from the beginning when you get out of detention center." His uncle clicked his tongue and tossed the revolver back to the captain. Then, he kicked Louisin, who had collapsed without even being able to scream, with the tip of his shoe and rolled him out of the way. Riegrow, his path now clear, subtly smiled and straightened up. It was obvious that pressing his neck against the gun barrel had been intentional. Riegrow chuckled and slowly took one step forward. And then another step. Jeong Tae-ui, keeping his gaze on him without rushing, slowly lowered his gun. His uncle, who had come up beside him, held out his hand, and Jeong Tae-ui placed the Colt on it. Riegrow, having taken two steps back as his uncle had instructed, turned around. Jeong Tae-ui, who had been staring intently at him, met his eyes. Riegrow was looking at him with a faint smile. Jeong Tae-ui noticed his hand clenching and unclenching as if in regret. Just then, what would have happened if my uncle had arrived just a little later? I couldn't know how this man would have acted. However, the dark feeling of unease that had instinctively overwhelmed me at that moment still clearly chilled my spine. I realized anew how truly dangerous it had been. ……No, perhaps what's truly dangerous is yet to come. Indeed, now I understood why this man always wore those gloves, supposedly because he didn't like getting blood on his hands. Jeong Tae-ui became very depressed. It seemed the military education emphasizing camaraderie still hadn't worn off. What did it matter if some guy I had no connection to died?  His body had moved reflexively. Suddenly, he felt a gaze on him and turned his eyes gloomily, only to find his uncle looking at him. His uncle was looking at him with an "you idiot" expression and made a clicking sound with his tongue. His uncle had given him valuable advice in his own way, but he couldn't have done anything more clearly to get on his bad side. "Jeong Tae-ui. What in the world were you planning to do with a gun that didn't even have a magazine?" His uncle said with a look of utter disappointment. The Colt dangling from his uncle's hand looked very light. Jeong Tae-ui didn't say anything, his face glum. I had known the weight of the Colt ever since I took it from Maurer's grasp. But to stop that man, I had no choice but to take that gamble. Riegrow, who had been watching Jeong Tae-ui from a short distance, paused for a moment. A strange expression came over his face. Then, he let out a "ha" of disbelief and laughed. It seemed the more he thought about it, the more ridiculous it became, and his low, intermittent laughter continued for a while. Then, that laughter stopped abruptly. Riegrow looked straight at Jeong Tae-ui and murmured, as if engraving the words in his mind. "Tae-ui, Jeong Tae-ui, you say." It was the most accurate pronunciation I had heard from someone else recently.  Hearing that whisper, as if Riegrow was rolling his name around in his mouth, made Jeong Tae-ui even more depressed. A future full of difficulties was already unfolding in that voice. Uncle, instead of Luixin, could I go into the detention center? I don't mind being locked up for the entire six months, so please isolate me. I should go up to the instructor's office and beg my uncle, even if I have to cling to his pants leg. *** ------ Credits: Translator: Hoshi Miya Editor/Proofreader: Tâmago We made a discord server! please join us!